Having Confidence for Your Dog

I do a lot of volunteering for Guide Dogs for the Blind. I raise puppies and I help the leaders with making sure the group is training their dogs how Guide Dogs wants them trained. A lot of what we do for Guide Dog training is much different from what I would do with a client’s dog, mostly because Guide Dogs work much more. What similarities there are between house pet and service dog training lie mostly in what is expected of the dog handler. What the leaders of the group look for in other members, what I look for in clients, and what dogs look for in people is confidence.

Confidence revolves around three things, three essential things that dog handlers need to have. Or at least fake having for the sake of their dog. Those three things are knowledge, posture, and ego.

When someone is knowledgeable about dog training it’s plain to see in how they perform. They know how to move their hands, how to use their body, what tone of voice to use, etc. This is the easiest point, I feel, in making a dog handler more confident. Reading books and watching dog training videos online, for example, are all easy ways to increase a dog handler’s ability to participate in training discussions. The dog handler can also practice more, gaining experience in dog handling. The main point about developing confidence through knowledge is that it is the factor a dog handler can control the most. There is very little to do with the unconscious because the dog handler is taking steps towards eliminating ignorance.

My second point, posture, could be seen as an extension of knowledge. Though I feel because of all the unconscious factors at play with a person’s body language, this point is its own hurdle. When I talk about confident body language with dogs it is actually quite comparable to confident body language with people. The biggest interview tip I’ve ever received was about handshakes. “How am I going to get hired with wet noodles for arms?” I was asked. Instantly I thought firmness was the way to go. And many smooth job interviews later, I’d say that’s right.

Now how do we transfer this to how we handle dogs? When I shake a client’s hand, I most certainly will not make either of our knuckles white from my grip. That’ll hurt us and then all my client will think about is that instance. That energy will be there the whole time. Imagine now, instead of your boss’s hand, it’s your dog’s leash. Your dog knows you’re squeezing the hell out of that leash and that the energy level is up in the clouds. And he’s going to respond with his energy level up in the clouds.

Let’s consider a very common posture that I’ve seen in every non-professional dog handler I’ve met: leaning over your dog. I see handlers bending at the hips for every command. This begs the question of why a handler does this to their dog. My explanation would be that they don’t believe their dog will do anything they ask unless they force their dog to do it. I feel this attitude stems from a very long history of dog training being about dominance and forcing a dog to do something.

Just try this with your dog. Teach your dog long stays easily with confidence. Instead of telling your dog to sit and stay with an angry voice, then creeping backwards with your hand out telling him to stay 8 or 9 times before he gets up and you run to him frantically, try telling him to sit and stay. Calmly say the command, calmly hold your hand out once, and calmly take 8 or 9 steps way. Don’t make eye contact, don’t talk, and hold your back and chin up. If he gets up, don’t talk, don’t run, just put him back where he was.

This is confidence through posture and it takes a lot to overcome our preconceived notions of how dogs want to interact. Take a moment to think about what body language you show and how it could be more effective.

The last point about showing confidence for your dog is understanding your own ego. A lot of handlers and owners get defensive about how their dog behaves. There are a lot of comments such as “he doesn’t do this at home” or “he knows better than to do that,” as though those are valid excuses for a dog’s behavior. What I see with comments like those is a handler who is not putting the dog first. They are comments from a handler who has put themself on a pedestal above the dog. This attitude takes no responsibility and in fact tries to absolve the handler of the dog’s actions.

The reality is that, outside of medical reasons, the handler is in control of the dog’s behavior and is in charge of maintaining it.

None of this is actually a problem until something bad happens. A child gets bit, a dog fight happens, or property gets destroyed. An ego is a good thing until it blinds you from taking care of your dog.

I was told when I first started training dogs at 14-years-old that “in order to make a good dog trainer, you have to be willing to make an ass of yourself.” This quote didn’t sink in until 6 years after I was told it. To me, it means doing whatever it takes to take care of and train your dog.  That means putting what you think is right on hold and changing that to what is right for the dog.

Now go out there and make asses of yourselves. Your dogs will be all the better for it.

Feel free to join in the discussion on here, on my Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/concentricdogtraining) or through email at michael@concentricdog.com

Even the Dog Trainer’s Dog Chews Up the House: The Importance of Context

I like to tell my clients that I am not, by any means, the end all, be all of dog training. I also like to tell them that Karen Pryor, Ian Dunbar, Patricia McConnell, Victoria Stillwell, and Cesar Millan are also not the end all be all (Please don't think I'm conflating my ability with theirs). That’s because learning to train dogs is an adaptive and never ending process of figuring out what works and what does not. When I came home on Tuesday night after spending some time at a coffee shop and writing lesson plans, I discovered what does not work for my dog.

Tragedy strikes

As you can see in the picture, I was surprised that my 2-month-old pair of Nikes had been chewed. Not even close to the end of their life, yet they met such a tragic demise. And fueled by this tragedy, I was irate. I saw the shoe, took a deep breath, held it, and went for a walk around the block. After the walk I was still angry. I had nothing to say to anyone in the house. I told the dogs “kennel” in a calm, relaxed (as possible) tone and began cleaning the kitchen. Pots and pans were piled up and I could bang them around a bit (it was late so not too much banging). An hour and a half later, the kitchen was clean and I had the clarity to sit down and think.

“All this over a pair of shoes?” is what I’m sure you’re asking, it’s certainly what my roommates asked. This was not the first time Shimmer had chewed a pair of my shoes. In fact, it added to the grand total of around $350 worth of shoes in the 3 years of her life. On top of my predisposition to never buying new things for myself, the tensions were high. The first question I ask myself after something like this is “why did this happen?”

Why? Well, I can try to blame it on my roommates who all left without putting her in the kennel. That would make me feel better but it wouldn’t be entirely honest.

I could blame it on my ability to train dogs, but I don’t have the money for the equipment to monitor my dog while I’m away from home. I mean, I’m a dog trainer, not a super star.

I could blame it on Shimmer’s anxiety spurred by her poor vision and general lack of confidence. But, again, that’s not the whole picture and is thus not honest to say.

I could even blame it on my lack of due diligence in just thinking to put her in the kennel in the first place. But in this instance, I thought she was being watched.

Slip ups like this happen and they happen for many reasons, some may or may not be in your control. I had to think about what is in my control when this slip up happened. My roommates are not in my control (I don’t have them trained as well I should). My dog’s anxiety is not in my control as much as I would like it to be.

So what do I learn from this? I have a feeling someone is going to suggest leaving a treat filled toy for her while I’m gone. A wise suggestion in most cases, but adapting that to all dogs, especially Shimmer, is not effective. She eats Kongs and other treat-stuffed toys. This, naturally, causes GI issues.

What I learned from this is that slip ups happen. For no reason or for every reason. And they happen semi-regularly. It’s the response to these slip ups that matters the most, not the why. It’s a hard concept for me to get around, not understanding the why because with a why, there is a clear answer to how to solve the problem in the future.

I’ve trained Shimmer not to pick up food or socks or shoes. I’ve trained her to know what toys are hers and what is her space. What I’ve done here is taken away her decision making power. The context of her training changes completely when I’m not there. So how do I get her to think independently? First I’m going to try a protocol of leaving her alone in the house, outside of her kennel, for ten minutes at a time every day. I’ll take a walk or a drive somewhere. Then I’m going to gradually increase the time. And if that doesn’t work, I’ll stop and ask why what I did failed and try a new procedure with her.

The take away here is that a slip up should never be looked at from the perspective of “my dog did bad so he is bad.” In your dog’s eyes, he hasn’t done anything wrong and punishment of that wrongdoing would be ludicrous. Like with Shimmer’s training, your dog’s training changes context every time you ask him to do a command. Shimmer can turn lights off, but if I go to someone’s house she won’t do it. It can even be as simple as your dog not performing a down stay out on a walk, but he’ll do it all the time at home. While not as major as chewing the house, this slip up, like Shimmer’s, is due entirely to how the context of training changes.

A slip up should be looked at from a perspective of “how can I prevent that behavior in the future?” We all make mistakes at work and in other aspects of life. It’s unfair for you to beat yourself up about a mistake with your dog. Mistakes can be mended and fixed and solved. It’s all about context and in order to make your training slip up proof, you must practice all contexts of commands.

Just remember, he’s family, make sure you treat him as such.

If you’d like to join in on the discussion, leave a comment here or on Facebook. You can even email me with at michael@concentricdog.com

Kennel Training and the Importance of Keeping your Dog Safe

I support kennel training. I support it for any dog and every dog. Most of all, I support kennel training for the safety of your dog.

Kennel training needs to start young, like, right when you get your puppy young. This is not only important for house training (which will be its own article) but a dog needs a place to be.  Just like children have their own rooms, so should dogs. It’s a way for your dogs to learn to be alone and for you to be alone from your dogs.

The first instance I can think of kennel training as important is when bringing a new dog (or animal) into the house.  Recently, a third cat came to stay with us. (Like most of my cats, it just sort of happened more than intentionally getting one). Shimmer, my almost 3-year-old yellow lab was in her kennel when the new kitten arrived and so were my other cats. My concern was that all of the animals would interact in a way that I couldn’t control, resulting in a trip to the emergency vet. The last time I went to the emergency vet, I was out $500, and that was just x-rays and an IV! From inside the kennels, the old animals could get used to the new kitten. And the new kitten was given time to adjust to them. This same methodology works well for fostering animals with a rescue, or even bringing new people into your home. It allows your dog to get comfortable within his own space.

One important thing to note is that since it is your dog’s space, it is crucial that no one approach the crate unless to put the dog in or take the dog out of it. Keep your kids, friends, and other animals away from your dog’s kennel area. This just further emphasizes that the crate is his space.

The second instance I can think of is an emergency in your house. Another example from my life, the other day the cats (or dogs, I’m unsure who, but I’m blaming the cats regardless) knocked down a tall lamp in the dining room. When the lamp fell, one of the CFLs (the ones with mercury in them) shattered. The dogs came running to me and I told them both ‘kennel’ in a panicked tone. They both rushed to their kennels and there they stayed for the next 20 minutes as I cleaned up the glass shards. As curious as my dogs are, they 100% would’ve gotten glass in their paws if they didn’t know the kennel command and feel comfortable running into their kennels.

My third situation for kennel being important is for health safety reasons. Things like a spay/neuter surgery, a broken leg, or even just sprained or sore muscles are reasons for a dog to be in the kennel. Recovery is going to happen when the dog is sleeping and resting. I’ve met dogs with energy levels that no human could compete with and my first thought is that when that dog gets hurt, he’s going to hurt himself more. That’s just how they are; they don’t realize their limitations. If Shimmer and I have an especially intense session of fetch, even if she is not visibly sore or limping, I still send her to her kennel with a lot of ice/water when we’re done.

There are all sorts of other psychological reasons and behavioral reasons why we should kennel train our dogs. There’s even an argument to be made that it makes everyone’s life easier. But those aren’t the arguments that I feel are the most important, and most of all, I don’t feel those other arguments are accessible or relatable to most dog owners. Even if your dog has perfect house manners and listens to every thing you say, that’s still not an excuse to neglect kennel training.

Join the discussion by leaving me a comment here, Facebook, or shooting me an email at michael@concentricdog.com.

What is "family oriented" dog training?

The main premise upon which Concentric Dog's training philosophy stands is that it is "family oriented." You'll hear me throwing that phrase around a lot and I understand saying something like "family values" has some political charge to it. I guarantee there is no political agenda here. When I say family oriented, I mean the training methods and philosophies revolve around how a family works, the deep ties everyone shares, and of course, the amount of time we all (should) make for our families.

When I present this idea to a client I often get "how do you know how a family works?" My normal response is, "I don't know, how does your family work?" One size does not fit all with a family. Some routines work out well and by extension some dogs will and will not work out well with how a family works. It becomes my challenge to not only discover how a dog fits into a human's life, but how a human fits into a dog's life. This means considering how many people are in the family, what their ages are, what their genders are, how active they are, how much space they have, and more. Only after considering these ideas and getting to know the family can an actual training protocol that works, and better yet sticks, be implemented.

Exposing the ties and emotional relationships people have with their dogs is not hard to do. Most people I've met (my mom included) will show me pictures of their dogs and tell me about their dogs' accomplishments before I hear anything about their children. Now, this of course doesn't mean they don't love their kids, to me it just means they have a lot of enthusiasm about their dogs. It's that enthusiasm that I like to capitalize on when growing ties between the family and the dog. Couple that with what I see as people's undying need to touch their dog and we get things like (calmly) rubbing a dog's shoulders. Here, we get the dog and the human to engage physically, which will also help them bond emotionally.

The last part of the three main pieces of Concentric Dog's philosophy is time. Not everyone is like me and wants to spend 3 or more hours a day training dogs. And most families, adults after work and children after school, will not want to spend an hour training their dog. This is 100% reasonable and a dog can be trained in short sessions of 5 to 15 minutes. Plus, most dogs (and some people) don't have the patience to work longer than that. With this amount of time, training can be done in the time it takes to heat up a lasagna, watch Game of Thrones, or even open (then promptly throw away) junk mail. The quality of the time is more important than the quantity.

It is these three themes that give us the center of Concentric Dog's training philosophy: Turning Friends into Family.