Practice Makes Perfect
The more you work with your dog, the fewer behavior problems you will have. You are spending time building up a history, and if you are successful your dog will associate training with fun. Teaching your dog to perform tricks is a great way to help you get to know your dog and improve your relationship with him; plus, training tricks is fun and most people enjoy spending time training their dogs this way.
Some dogs love learning tricks more than anything else, so they are more willing to work longer and perform with enthusiasm. If you prefer to teach your dog tricks, why not use them in everyday life to help prevent your dog from practicing inappropriate behaviors? If your dog is a puller, mix in Roll Over, Sit Up Pretty, or Spin with reinforcing the dog for staying with you.
To use tricks to replace problem behavior, the dog must know the trick very well in all different kinds of environments, and she also has to be heavily reinforced (at least initially) for choosing to perform the trick rather than the inappropriate behavior. The more you practice what you want, the better it will happen for you when you truly need it. The more creative you are in your training program, the better your relationship with your dog will be.
The most important key to successfully training a more desirable behavior is to have patience. Not all dogs learn at the same rate. Each dog is an individual and is motivated by different things. Be flexible in what type of reward you offer your dog. Be ready to break things down into smaller steps, and be generous with your reinforcement and feedback.
The Bark Stops Here!
Barking can be a hot issue in any neighborhood. The dog's reasons for barking will determine what solution will work for your dog. Try to identify whether the dog is bored, unsocialized, fearful, or just too exuberant. Then try different approaches to see what works best for you and your dog. Here are some options to consider:
Hide treat-stuffed Kong toys all over the yard to prevent boredom.
Teach your dog to retrieve a toy and carry it to the visitor to help keep your dog quiet.
Teaching your dog to Roll Over will use up some of the energy that was previously focused on barking.
Teaching your dog to Spin will keep her too busy to bark.
Asking for a play Bow is a nice greeting for an elderly person or small child.
For a dog that likes to use her paws, teaching her to Wave will direct her energy appropriately.
Training your dog to use an alternate behavior will revolutionize the way other people see your dog. It will make your guests comfortable, keep you calm, and give everyone reason to reinforce your dog's good behavior with lots of love and attention.
The best way to get rid of a barking problem is to recognize when the dog is about to erupt and interrupt and redirect his behavior toward a more appropriate venue. This takes practice, and you'll have to know your dog well to time your intervention. You'll also have to know behavior or activity will entertain your dog sufficiently to keep her from barking.
Mugging Company at the Door
Jumping is a problem most dogs do not outgrow. Dogs mainly jump in their exuberance to greet a person and to welcome them to play. Teaching your dog an alternate greeting behavior may be an excellent solution for your dog's jumping problems. Here's how:
Require a Sit/Stay or Down/Stay before people are allowed to pet your dog.
Ask your dog to Play Dead or Belly Up and let the visitor scratch her belly as a reward.
Teaching your dog to Roll Over and Spin, one right after the other, is an excellent way to keep even the most energetic dog focused on her job of greeting sanely.
Have your dog go fetch a toy to keep her mouth busy and his feet off the company.
A Stay command can keep her away from the open door and the big wide world beyond.
Though there is no quick solution to jumping, preventing it from happening in the first place is a good start toward changing your dog's first response to visitors. Remember that dogs do what works. If something is no longer an option, it gets eliminated from the list of possibilities and is eventually replaced by what does work. Make sure the behavior that works for your dog is something that works for you, too!
Who's Walking Whom
Pulling on the leash is by far the number one complaint from dog owners and the most common reason they bring their dogs to obedience class. Adding tricks to your dog's repertoire will help you manage her on-leash behavior and give you more options when she starts pulling. If she never knows what you might ask her to do next, she'll be more likely to pay attention to you and less likely to pull.
Teaching your dog appropriate leash manners can be time consuming and tedious; break it up a little with some of these ideas:
Play the targeting game as you walk by having your dog touch your hand or pant leg with her nose as you walk along.
As you are walking, stop every so often and ask your dog to Spin.
Don't walk a long distance all at once without changing direction or frequently stopping to have your dog Sit.
Mix up moving by asking your dog to stop and Wave.
Stop periodically and ask your dog to Roll Over several times in a row; it will take the edge off an excitable dog.
Using tricks while teaching your dog to remain under control on leash is an excellent way for her to learn to control her enthusiasm. Directing her energy toward more a appropriate behavior will teach her to pay attention to you and what you are asking her to do.
Remember that your dog has been pulling you along behind her for a long time. Since there is a lot of money in your dog's bank account for pulling, you'll need to counter that with huge jackpot deposits for not pulling. This requires frequent practice and a commitment to make sure you don't follow your dog when she is pulling you.
Fierce or Fearful
Aggression and fearfulness are two behavior problems that are stressful for both the dog and the handler. Keeping your dog from getting too overwhelmed and redirecting her attention to you is your primary goal as the owner of a fearful or aggressive dog. Keep in mind that your ultimate goal is to help your dog establish a positive association with the things she is afraid of through positive reinforcement. What better way to do that than to teach her to do tricks in situations where she normally reacts with aggression or fear?
Teach her to look at you for an extended period of time on command.
Teach her to touch your hand with her nose.
Teach her to touch an object or a person's hand. (This has to be built up to slowly.)
Teach her to Spin or turn around.
Teach her to Bow; this may help lighten up dogs that are passing by and help your dog feel more relaxed with their presence.
Teach her to Wave.
Teach her to Roll Over, which will disorient her enough that she won't know where the scary person or dog disappeared to by the time she's finished.
Teach her to Say You're Sorry, which will flatten her into a very submissive position — a great way to diffuse other dogs.
The purpose of teaching a fearful or aggressive dog tricks is that when a dog is performing tricks — and trained to ignore distractions — she is concentrating on something else. Think of this as another form of “incompatible behavior.”
Knowing exactly what your dog needs for reinforcement is a better, more permanent way to get rid of behavior problems. Noticing what is going right and rewarding it will make it more likely that your dog will replace her old habits with more appropriate good dog manners. Remember what you pay attention to is what you get; if you start ignoring what is going wrong and start rewarding what is going right, the behaviors you see as problems now will disappear and you will be rewarded with a more well-behaved companion.
