I’m about to say something that might catch you a bit off guard… maybe it’ll even offend you.

I don’t think your dog even knows how to sit!

That’s right!

I’m suggesting that not one in 50 people reading this blog post have a dog who REALLY knows how to sit.

How could I say this so confidently?

That almost every dog owner doesn’t even have enough control over their dog to know how to train a dog to sit?

Because I think dog owners don’t really understand what sit is.

Most owners think that if their dog sits most of the time he’s trained to sit… but they couldn’t be further from the truth.

Here’s how to tell if your dog knows how to sit.

And if your dog can’t pass all these tests, I’ve got some tips for you at the end of this post that you can quickly start practicing on to help your dog know how to sit better.

Does your dog pass these 5 tests?

1. You NEVER have to push down on his backside to get him to sit
2. You only have to say “Sit” once
3. He’ll sit for you when you have your back to him
4. When you ask him to sit, he sits, NOT lays down
5. He’ll sit at the front door when a new stranger comes over (if you ask him to)

If you’re like most people, you might have made it past the first or second test, but tests 3, 4, & 5 are where you started to fail.

You might be saying “So What!  What’s the big deal about my dog not being a perfect sitter?”

And the answer is, A LOT!

Here’s why:

You see, we all want an obedient dog right?  A dog that will obey us in almost any situation.  And we all hate it when it seems like our dog isn’t listening to us.

We call our dog stubborn, or untrainable.  But is this really the problem.

What if I proposed to you, that if you have a dog who doesn’t listen to you all the time, maybe… just maybe you’ve been using ineffective training techniques that don’t REALLY help your dog comprehend what you’re asking.

And that if you would focus on teaching your dog to REALLY know just a few basic commands, his behavior would immedietly improve, and he’d become more manageable and well behaved.

How do you do this?  And why do so many people get this wrong with their dogs?

Because they don’t know how to prevent what I call “Derailing Cooperation”.

You see, dog obedience training is about getting your dog to cooperate with you… and be on the same mental track your on.  So that when you ask him to do things, you ask them to do things that are within his ability to cooperate.

When your dog cooperates, things run smoothly… like a train going down a track.

But the problem is that not all train tracks are straight and flat.  They have turns, they go uphill, they go downhill and you have to manage the speed of the train to keep the train from derailing.

Teaching a dog to sit is like this.

When you’re working with your dog in your living room, with nobody else around, it’s like a train only going 5 miles an hour on a perfectly flat surface… it’s EASY to keep things in line and running smoothly.

But when you add distractions, doorbells, multiple kids running around, other dogs, and a postman at your front door, that’s like sending a train down the same kind of track I just finished watching Tom Hanks try to ride the Polar Express to the North Pole on… it’s a rough ride.

So you need to understand that EVERY behavior that you teach your dog, even something as simple as training a dog to sit, needs to involve a process of first teaching the dog how to do the behavior, and then increasing the distractions gradually until your dog can perform the behavior even in a chaotic environment.

Your dog’s ability to focus is very much like a muscle that you never work out.

You know how you feel when you finally go to the gym after not lifting weights for months…

You get SORE!  Really sore.

But in that process of getting sore, your body rebuilds your muscles so they are strong enough to handle a bit heavier load.  And if you keep doing this over and over again, you’re eventually able to handle VERY heavily loads with little fatigue.

Teaching your dog to focus is much the same way.  I call this, “Building Your Dog’s FOCUS Muscles”, and you can start working on this today by doing these three things:

1. Stop telling your dog to sit multiple times.If you find you’re always having to repeat your dog’s commands, guess what, he doesn’t know them.  So start from square one.Get yourself some treats and a clicker, lock your dog in the same room with you, and wait for your dog to sit, click… and toss him a treat.  Pretty soon, he should get the idea and start sitting a LOT.When he’s sitting reliable, start mixing in the cue, and then only click and reward when he actually sits.  If he doesn’t do it the first time you ask, don’t treat, take a 5 second break and try again.
2. Change it UP!Once your dog is sitting regularly while you sit there and watch him, take a seat… literally.  Sit down on the ground and ask your dog to perform the same behavior, you might find he doesn’t perform as well, that’s OK, keep at it.  Then try laying down on your back, turning around, and lots of different body positions, even being out of the room, until your dog is sitting every time you ask, no matter where you ask him from.
3. Start Flexing His Focus MusclesWhen he’s sitting every time you ask, now it’s time to add some difficulty.  Take him over to a friends house with kids you know he get’s along with.  And practice the same routine, in this more distracting environment.  Take him to a dog park and practice there too.  After a week or two of this type of training your dog should be able to sit in even the most distracting, exciting environments.

He’ll be more under your control, and ready to focus on his next steps of training, because you’ve now trained him to listen to you in different environments… and that’s half the battle!

Have you ever wished you had more control of your dog?

Do you wish he didn’t get overly excited for visitors, constantly barking when they come to the door, or jumping on them when they come inside your home?

Do you wish he would always listen to you… even when he’s heavily distracted or excited?

What if I told you if you changed just one thing in your dog’s life, you’d have a more manageable dog who behaves himself ALL the time.

Would you want to know what to change?

Let me explain…

You see, every animal in this world comes from a long genetic background that heavily influences how the animal thinks.  Some animals have evolved to be self sufficient and can survive on their own; where an animal like a dog isn’t genetically coded to do well on it’s own.

Dog’s live in packs.

And centuries of breeding and evolving have given dogs the tools they need to stay alive in a pack situation.  They’ve learned skills like:

How to tell what dog in the pack calls the shots

Who’s going to lead the hunting party for food tonight

Social skills at reading their pack members moods

When to leave certain dogs alone.

So thousands of years of breeding has taught your dog a thing or two about the best ways to stay alive in this world and maintain order in a pack situation.  In a VERY real sense this skill set is a “Pack Language” and…

… all dog’s know THIS “Pack Language”

And one of the most IMPORTANT principals of the “Pack Language” that your dog is genetically programmed to follow, is the concept of following, obeying & respecting the leader of the pack.

So here’s the deal… all dogs get confused when their humans, (YOU) don’t ALSO know and understand at least a little bit of this Pack language.

And if you don’t make an attempt to learn a few words and concepts of this “Pack Language” you’re probably going to run into some problems controlling your dog.

Because you’ll be sending him mixed signals!

You’ll try to use HUMAN words to get him to do things, instead of using “Pack Language” words, behaviors and mannerisms to get obedience.

Here’s a few examples of what I mean…

Example #1) The leaders of a dog pack all sleep together, while the puppies and other dog’s do NOT.  So just the act of letting your dog crawl in bed with you every night to you means that you’re being nice to your dog…

… but in “Pack Language” it means he’s a pack leader too

Example #2) In the wild, a hunting party of Wolves (where all dog’s originally came from) will let the leader of the pack lead the hunting party.

He runs at the front of the pack.

So if you’re letting your dog walk through a door, or always pull on the leash, in “Pack Language” you’re sending a VERY clear message to your dog that he’s the one running the show… NOT you.

Example #3) One of the roles of a leader of the pack is to protect the pack from danger.  He protects the packs territory, and scares off or attacks intruders.

So when your dog is barking, snarling, or growling at intruders, in Pack language you’re letting him take on the role of the leader of the pack by LETTING him PROTECT your home.

And the REAL problem is…

That by letting your dog be the LEADER of your home, he automatically behaves more defiantly.  Leaders lead, they don’t follow orders from others.

So what can you do with your dog to start regaining the leadership role in your home, get your dog to let go of his leadership roles and finally let you take the reigns?

What I recommend to most of my clients, and the strategy that seems to help transfer leadership of your home BACK to you and away from your dog is teaching your dog “there is no such thing as a free lunch”.

And I call this the “No Free Lunch Plan”

What is a No Free Lunch Plan?

It means that VERY literally, for your dog to get ANYTHING it wants it has to earn it.

If it wants to go outside it has to learn that it CAN go play outside, and even get extra rewards and play time outside… but only if he waits at the door UNTIL you give him permission to go outside.

It means that in order to go to the bathroom he has to ask you if he can go outside by rining a bell.

If he wants to be pet, he has to sit or lay down first.

It means that you shouldn’t let your dog have access to a full food bowl all day long… instead he should have feeding times, and he should have to sit, or hold a stay or perform some other type of behavior to earn the right to eat.

I realize this may sound a bit more disciplinarian that you might like, or be comfortable with.

You might not want your dog to be handled this way.

You may like being able to greet an excited dog by giving him a hug, or kissing his face or wrestling with him.  You may think it’s mean to leave him hungry and not have food all day.

But you NEED to remember that your dog does NOT speak ENGLISH as a 2nd language.  He speaks “Pack Language”… and he’s not really good at learning new languages, especially ours.

So we need to get better at learning their languages.

We need to start realizing that dogs will either treat you as a pack leader or they’ll BECOME the pack leader.  And you can either leave this to chance, or you can take active steps to determine which kind of dog yours will be.

You’ll find that some dogs will let you take charge easily, while others will be more defiant.

But just be observant.

Watch for your dog taking the leadership role.

And do your BEST to learn how to stop these behaviors before they start. And of course, you could start learning how to do this in my Hands Off Dog Training Program:

Hands Off Dog Training Program

Hope You Found This Helpful!

Happy Training,

Chet Womach

 

How Clicker Training Will Help You and Your Dog!

Clicker training helps your dog learn behaviors. Rather than simply guessing what you want him to do and running through his gamut of tricks, your dog will actually learn the behavior.

Clicker’s are simple and easy to use. It’s a small handheld tool that makes a clicking noise when you press it. It’s this noise that marks the behavior so while anyone can learn to use it you must practice clicking.

Clicking embraces positive reinforcement training techniques. Positive reinforcement has been shown to activate chemicals in a dog’s brain. These chemicals create associations in the brain – positive associations, strong associations.

Clicker training helps build a bond of trust. When you click and reward, click and reward your dog learns that you are a person who holds true to your word. You are a person to be trusted and relied upon.

Clicker training creates structure. Dogs, and most people, prefer a structured environment. Now that doesn’t mean they’re not adaptable but by and large they want to know what to expect. Clicker training tells them what to expect.

Clicker training can be used on just about any animal, not just dogs. Animals and people too, respond well to operant conditioning – particularly when the consequence is a pleasant thing.

The benefits of clicker training have a broad reach. It’s a fairly simple method to use and when you have the right training guidelines and information clicker training is one of the most effective and efficient training methods available.

Depending on the training resources you utilize, clicker training is also very cost effective. With the minimal cost of a clicker and the information found here you’ll be well on your way to a happy and healthy pooch!

 

Clicker training is based on the behavioral psychology concept of operant conditioning.  Without getting too technical, because this is not Psych 101, operant conditioning states that when you use consequences you can modify behavior and training. 

However clicker training doesn’t use punishment as consequences like older more traditional forms of dog training, but rather uses rewards to modify behavior and training.  There are of course, many benefits to using clicker training and positive reinforcement.

A Clicker is a Conditioned Reinforcer

A clicker, a small handheld device which makes a clicking noise when pressed, is a conditioned reinforcer.  Meaning that the specific sound a clicker makes marks a desired behavior.  You can pick them up at most pet stores for just a couple bucks. 

For example, you ask your dog to sit and he sits, you click and that signal marks the behavior.  Your reward so that he begins to make associations.  Your dog begins to relate the treat to the click and the click to performing the behavior you request.  

Why Clicker Training is Important

Why this is so important to learning.  While sit isn’t such a difficult behavior for dogs to learn many behaviors are.  Many behaviors take several steps to perform correctly and therefore it’s very important your dog knows when he’s performed all or part of the behavior correctly.  Now you might be asking, “Why can’t I just say ‘good dog?’”  

Our voices change inflection, we use different words, and we’re unable to speak as accurately as a simple click.  That being said, you will absolutely need to practice clicking to achieve the accuracy necessary for it to be useful. 

You certainly don’t want to click a split second later when your dog has decided to stand up again after the sit command because now you’ve just marked the standing up behavior – not what you were intending on teaching! 

Tomorrow I’ll post the benefits of Clicker Training. You can also read some more on Clicker Training For Dogs here.