Dog handlers fail to correct their dogs with the right timing and intensity. They say “No!” with the wrong tone of voice (not seriously enough, or too aggressively). People yank on choke collars, grasp tight leashes and scream out reprimands as the dog tunes them out.
I walked by one woman who had a leash-aggressive Bichon, and the woman kept repeating in a high-pitched voice, “That’s a good doggy,” only she was referring to the dog I was walking. How’s that for unintentionally rewarding aggressive behavior?
I’m not perfect either.
I tend to get frustrated easily, and I become too aggressive with my corrections, making them useless. This is especially bad since I have a sensitive, submissive dog. Frustration won’t help gain my dog’s respect. I might force him to do what I want or teach him to avoid me in certain situations, but these are not my goals.
My cat taught me a lesson on proper corrections.
Ace and I were working on some training indoors using treats. We were working on calming exercises around a tennis ball – Ace’s ultimate distraction. In particular, we were working on the “watch” command where Ace is rewarded for making eye contact.
My cat Beamer is right there in the mix whenever food is involved. And I mean right there. This cat has an extreme food obsession, so he was right up in our business “supervising” and disposing stray jerky bits.
Beamer is the most dominant animal we’ve had in our home. Some people interpret aggression as dominance, which is why it’s easy to get too rough with our dogs when we want to be in control. But being in control does not involve aggression. If you observe a dominant cat like Beamer, you will see a very docile and laid back animal. Beamer is calm and cool and in control.
Cat correction
At one point during our training, I gave Ace the OK to take the ball, but it had rolled in front of Beamer. Just to make a point, this cat stepped right over the ball and gave Ace a quick swat. Ace immediately backed up a foot or two and looked in the opposite direction, something I’ve tried to get him to do for years.
It was Beamer’s perfect timing and perfect intensity that caused Ace to move away and break his fixation on the ball. Beamer owned that toy, as well as the space around it, not to mention Ace already had respect for Beamer because of all their previous interactions.
Beamer did not have to make eye contact with Ace. His confident body posture was enough. There was nothing aggressive about the communication that took place, and nothing personal, either. Moments later, Beamer was weaving through Ace and I, purring, as he anticipated one of us dropping a few crumbs.
So when Ace fixated on the ball a few minutes later, I tried re-directing him Beamer’s way. My correction noise for Ace has always been a loudly whispered “hey!” or a loud snap. So I stepped over the ball and used those sounds. My dog backed off and looked the other way. All my animals take the “snap” seriously as a correction because the intensity and timing of it works better for me than my voice. Josh uses the same sound, so we are consistent.
Ace actually chose to avoid the ball and needed encouragement to take it. Of course, this technique will not work when Ace is in a higher state of obsession, such as when we are outside and two people are playing catch. But for working on training indoors, Beamer’s method works great.
Your dog probably doesn’t have a tennis-ball obsession like my dog, but if you are having trouble re-directing your dog away from squirrels, other dogs, rollerbladers or whatever it might be, reconsider the timing and intensity behind your corrections. You also want to make sure to “claim” that area or object by turning into your dog and walking right into him or right over the object or space he is focused on. This will cause him to back away.
Positive reinforcement
I also use positive reinforcement techniques with Ace by rewarding him with food for looking at me instead of the ball. His energy is much lower indoors than outdoors, so he is good at accepting food and ignoring the ball indoors. His retrieving instincts are very high, and I’m learning to work with them rather than against them.
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Today I was walked Hudson, Camo, and Delton (my mom walked Hector) at Sheyenne Kennels and Hudson is HUGE and has a ton of puppy energy and pulls the whole time. I’m not a very strong person and I admit that walking him was very difficult… How do you correct a dog who pulls constantly?
Glad to hear you were out walking some rescue dogs! I haven’t met Hudson or Camo.
You’ll find that a lot of the rescue dogs are difficult to walk. I always make sure to bring a prong collar along, which helps tremendously. Not sure if you had one for Hudson or not. When a dog pulls constantly, I do my best to keep the leash as loose as possible and give the dog quick leash corrections as needed.
I realize some of these dogs have been cooped up and have tons of energy so some will pull and pull no matter what. You can do things like switch directions randomly so he has to pay attention to you. Do u-turns by turning around and walking right into the dog. Stop and make the dog sit often.
There’s some more tips in this post on how to teach a dog to heel: http://www.thatmutt.com/2008/11/12/13-tips-for-teaching-your-dog-to-heel/
When I am out with Hank, I try to correct him as little as possible. That way I when I do, he knows I mean it. I see so many people correcting their dogs constantly, and then wondering why the dog has tuned them out.
Do they have prong collars avaliable? I do not have one, Charie walks by my side and doesn’t have any problems, so I’m not used to it.
I’m not sure if Hudson knows how to sit either, I tried to get him to sit and he just stared at me like I was crazy!
Judith, that is such a good point. I think most of us correct our dogs too often, including me.
Jessi, the kennel has one that I use. It might be too small for Hudson. Not sure how big he is! Otherwise, they are under $15 at PetSmart and Petco. If the dog won’t sit, just make him do it.
At least walking Hudson makes you appreciate your own dog’s good behavior, right?
For anyone interested, the dog we are talking about is a Newfie mix up for adoption with 4 Luv of Dog Rescue: http://bit.ly/b5T3lU
How did you like Hector and Delton? I love those two!
Delton walked really well! (of course that was right after I walked Hudson and Delton was LIGHT.) He is so pretty! Oops… Handsome:)
I didn’t walk Hector, but my mom really liked him. Said he was REALLY strong, but very nice and he sat right away when she told him to.
Yes, Delton walks so nice on a leash. I haven’t walked Hector, but I’ve seen him at adoption days and he seems like such a nice dog. His former foster owner used a Gentle Leader with him, I noticed.
I hope I can help at adoption days soon.
That’d be great!
I went back to walk the dogs today! This time I walked Delton, Hector, Hudson, Shadow and Morgan.
I got the prong collar and I did what you said with Hudson, and at first he was completely ignoring me, but about halfway through our walk he was walking right beside me and pulled only a couple times!
Of course next time I go and walk him it’s going to start all over again, haha.
Well, the most important thing is time. The dogs will learn to walk nicely on a leash the more we keep working with them. I’m sure they appreciate getting out for some fun!
Jessi it’s great that you are walking rescue dogs! I also walk the 4LOD dogs in boarding, and they can be a challenge!
Lindsay- I like your story about Beamer correcting Ace. I think cats are great examples of claiming their space and being calm and assertive. I actually had an incident with my dog quite awhile ago that taught me this lesson. I decided it was time that he stop trying to fence fight with territorial dogs in fences, and was determined to get him to ignore a particular dog in the neighborhood. I had his training collar on and became a little frustrated because I wasn’t getting the response I wanted. HE then became frustrated because he didn’t understand what I wanted and I was correcting him with too much intensity. He actually nipped my leg at my leg while we were walking past this fence- which was the first and only time he’s ever done that. After that I quickly realized that the whole situation was my fault- I was correcting him with too intensely with frustration and he responded that same way to me. I have since switched to a slip lead and now all I do is a pull up with tension on the slip lead to keep him moving forward and relax the tension when he relaxes. The most I hear out of him is a whine, and I don’t get as frustrated!
Very good example, Amanda! When I get too frustrated with Ace, he can tell right away and begins to shut down. He is so sensitive and only wants to make me happy, so he is afraid to make mistakes. I want him to feel confident enough to try new things without being scared of screwing up, so I always have to remember how in tune he is to me. I have to stay calm or we can’t accomplish anything.
HI! Thanks so much for visiting.
Life is just SO crazy right now with a new job and a little one – who is turning one soon. EEK! It’s all I can do to post once a month on my jewelry blog. Even my beloved political blog has gone silent these last few months.
Looks like you’re still doing great work with Ace. Wish you lived closer … I’d have you work on Timber. lol
Hey! Thanks for stopping by. Glad you are doing well! I’m sure you’re keeping very busy!
Hey Lindsay, I love your story about Beamer and Ace. I too also have a cat & dog and can totally relate. But I particularly appreciated your comments about dominance vs. control and aggression. I own a spunky and very stubborn Jack Russell, and I often find myself getting angry with him because he’s not responding (he’s VERY INTELLIGENT, so when he’s not responding, it means he is blatantly ignoring me). So I agree that when you are not getting what you want, it’s important to step back and re-assess the dynamics of the situation and find a new method. Just yelling more or getting angry really does not yield any positive results.
I’m glad you understand exactly what I’m talking about! They know how to challenge us, don’t they?
While I’m a fan of different dog tricks, I just can’t help it when the dogs misbehave and the last resort means having to spank it.
Is there any other suggestions other than treats to teach it how to behave? I really admire some of those dogs that can listen attentively to your commands but I also hate those that often refuse or bother what you have to say.
Any advice if everything else fails including the positive reinforcement tactic? Appreciate your helps.
-Dennis-
If a dog doesn’t do what you say, he may not understand what is being asked or he may be bored or distracted. Keep the training sessions fun and interesting and short. And remember it takes a dog a long time to learn something. Some are quicker than others. Some literally need hundreds of repetitions. And just because they know how to roll over on the carpeting in the living room doesn’t mean they know how to roll over outside on the grass or on the kitchen floor. They need to practice every command in different areas.
Well, intensity doesn’t matter for me…a 140lb bloodhound pretty much does what he wants. It’s not a good idea to get to harsh with bloodies either, they’re quite sensitive. Fortunately, Gus is a really good dog.
Ace is very sensitive as well. Lately I’ve been stressed, and I can tell it’s really having an effect on my poor dog! He’s worried that he’s the one causing it or that I’m upset with him. Poor boy!
Aww, poor Ace! Gus gets like that when I’m stressed too. I try and relax as much as possible so he won’t get worked up. Although after a while he’ll just lay down and start snoring!
Ace usually falls asleep too