Month: April 2019

The five cornerstones of your dog’s basic manners are sit, down, and stand (the position changes), plus hand targeting and the notion of closeness. By teaching these five things, you will be able to show your dog how to behave in nearly any circumstance. For example, you can ask him to sit to greet people politely, to lie down quietly while the family is eating, and to stand still while being examined by a veterinarian or groomer. Hand targeting enables you to redirect your dog’s attention and gently and easily guide him where you want him to go.

It is also a terrific exercise for ensuring that your dog is confident and enthusiastic about hands reaching toward him. Teaching your dog the desire to be close is the very essence of teaching him to walk calmly by your side down a busy street and to come back to you when you call him. Teaching these basics is vital to enjoying a fulfilling relationship with your dog, whether he is a tiny Chihuahua or an enormous St. Bernard.

The building blocks of basic manners are sit, down, stand, hand targeting, and come (the desire to be close). 

When teaching basic manners, keep in mind the principles of dog-friendly dog training:  

1. Always concentrate on teaching your dog what you want him to do. Remember, a reliable sit, down, stand, or hand target will prevent just about any behavior problem.

2. Until your dog is reliably trained, manage his lack of education; for example, keep him on leash and out of trouble.

3. Use gentle methods to teach your dog quickly and enjoyably. We all learn better when we are in a relaxed and happy state of mind.

A well trained dog gets much more out of life. You can take your dog just about anywhere with you and bask in the pride you feel when your well-trained dog is ad- mired by one and all. All dogs, even the tiniest ones, must be taught to reliably respond to a few simple requests. The list of benefits to having a well-mannered dog is endless, including preventing a potential disaster if your dog gets off leash and does not come back when you call him. 

Shirking the responsibility of training your new dog will only mean that you have to make a greater effort later on. Teaching your dog to respond to a few simple requests, such as sit, down, hand target, and come, is a great way to show him what you expect. This way, you can tell him what to do to be “right” in any given situation. For example, you can: 

• Ask him to sit to greet people rather than jump on them.  

• Ask him to lie down on his bed while your family eats dinner rather than get upset with him for begging at the table. 

Did you get a dog so that your backyard could have a pet? 

• Ask him to hand target rather than focus on another dog in the veterinarian’s waiting room. 

• Ask him to come to you when you call rather than get angry with him for running after the cat. 

When you think about it, it would be really cruel not to train your dog. Training consists of showing your dog what you want him to do. It’s too bad that many dogs are severely punished for behaviors their owners consider inappropriate, only because the owners didn’t bother to show the dogs what was expected. The poor dogs end up being punished for breaking rules they didn’t even know existed — all because of a lack of a little education and guidance. 

English veterinarian and animal behaviorist Dr. Ian Dunbar considers training to be no different from teaching your dog ESL, or English as a Second Language. You’re not teaching your dog to come, sit, and lie down. Eight-week-old puppies know how to come, sit, and lie down. Instead, you’re teaching your dog the human signals (requests) for dog behaviors and actions. Wouldn’t it be unfair to invite a social animal into your home only to relegate it to a communication void in solitary confinement? Of course, you must socialize and communicate with your dog. And rather than attempting to communicate by using a variety of dog languages, employing odors, body postures, and tail wags, training conveniently enables you to talk to your dog in your own language.

Training Happens All the Time 

Training is not just time set aside for your dog’s lessons. It’s part of everyday life. In fact, your dog is learning every waking moment, whether or not you are there and whether or not you are intentionally training him. 

Good teachers prepare for class by creating a lesson plan and readying the classroom. This is the best way to optimize students’ learning potential. A little preparation on your part will facilitate your dog’s achievement of his full potential.  

Choose the Classroom Carefully 

Carefully choose the environment where you begin teaching your dog. Eventually, you’ll want your dog to respond to your requests under all sorts of conditions, but when you begin teaching something new, it’s best to train in an area with as few distractions as possible. This is usually in the quietest room in your home. 

Precisely Define What You Want to Teach Your Dog 

You should have a clear picture in your mind of what you are setting out to teach. Your lesson plan will be a precise definition of each word you intend to teach your dog. You don’t have to use the same terms I use here (I have included some alter- natives), but it is important to know precisely what you’re trying to teach before you try to teach it.

A trained dog gets to be an integral part of the family

For example, saying your dog’s name might mean “pay attention,” but how do you know for sure that he is paying attention? The best and most reliable way to assess this may be to see whether he looks at you. “Sit” might mean for your dog to immediately place his bottom on the ground exactly where he is and remain there until the next instruction is given, regardless of the situation and the level of distractions. “Down” might mean for your dog to immediately place his body on the ground exactly where he is and remain there until the next instruction is given, regardless of the situation and the level of distractions. “Walking nicely by your side” might mean that there should be no tension on the leash and the dog should re- main on one side of you. “Come” might mean to run to you immediately when called and to either sit or remain close enough for you to grab his collar. 

Think about how to apply the basic commands in everyday life so that you and your dog get the full benefit of this shared language. 

It helps to be 0animated if you want to capture your dog’s attention. 

Get Your Dog’s Attention 

Before you can teach your dog anything, you must be sure that you can get your dog’s attention. If you’ve followed the advice in Chapter 1 on controlling the re- sources in your dog’s life, you’ll find that your dog is already paying a whole lot of attention to you. Also, encourage your dog to make eye contact with you many times throughout the day, praising him for even momentary glances initially. Eventually, you should be able to get your dog’s attention even in distracting circumstances. But start to teach this in your home, without a lot of distractions.

What’s in a Name? 

One of the most important words to define for your dog is his name. When you say your dog’s name, it should mean that you want him to pay attention and look at you since you are about to give further instructions. 

Too many dogs think that their name means “bad dog.” Be sure not to use your dog’s name when you’re unhappy with him. Moreover, if you repeat your dog’s name over and over without consequence, he will eventually learn to tune you out. The best way to teach your dog to pay attention when you say his name is to hand-feed him his meals for a week. You don’t have to hand-feed each and every piece of food, but the more pieces you hand-feed individually, the more dramatic the difference you will see in your dog’s responsiveness to his name. 

Say your dog’s name in a happy, bright tone. The instant he looks at you, click or say “yes” and give him a piece of his meal. Within a few repetitions, your dog will start to understand that when he hears his name, he should look at you to hear the marker (click or “yes”), which means that he will get a reward. 

Once your dog readily responds to his name by glancing at you, it is time to work toward increasing the duration of the glance. Your goal is to have a dog who is able to maintain attention (eye contact) for a reasonable period of time. Your dog should eventually be able to maintain eye contact for at least fifteen seconds. 

Although a quick glance in your direction in response to his name was sufficient attention for a reward initially, now require your dog to look at you for two seconds before clicking or saying “yes” to mark the behavior of looking at you and focusing his attention on you for two seconds and then rewarding him. Next time, you might wait for him to look at you for three seconds. In upcoming three- to five- minute training sessions, you can gradually increase to five seconds, eight seconds, ten seconds, and so on. Before you know it, your dog won’t take his eyes off you. 

Now move to different rooms in the house. When you move into areas with more distractions, you’ll need to increase the rewards until he gives you attention there. Your goal is to teach your dog to look at you when he sees a distraction, as it is an opportunity for more reinforcement. 

Eventually, when your dog reliably understands to look at you and focus until you ask him to do something else, repeat the process without food or other re- wards on your person. Instead, say his name, and when he looks at you, let him know what a great dog he is. Occasionally, go get a reward (food, a toy, or his leash to take him for a walk!).  

Remedial Action 

What if your dog doesn’t look at you when you say his name? Ignore him and play with a toy he likes a lot. If he tries to join in, continue to ignore him. Or produce something yummy and eat it yourself. Then try again!  

Training Game for Attention 

Ask a friend or family member to be your assistant in this game. Give her some food to hold while you have something your dog loves in your pocket. Sit a few feet apart. Have your assistant show your dog the food distraction, but she must not give it to the dog. When the dog is distracted by the food, say your dog’s name. If your dog looks at you, mark the behavior with a click or “yes” and offer the high- level reward you were hiding, plus the food distraction from your assistant as an additional reward (you can use very tiny pieces). 

If your dog does not look at you, walk over to him and show him what you had to offer him. Let him know how bad you feel for him that he missed out on getting it. Sit down and completely ignore your dog for a minute. Then have your assistant distract him again, and you say his name again. Chances are that you will get his full attention this time. By having your assistant never actually give your dog any food, she is helping you to show him that paying attention to this distraction is no good. You are the only slot machine that is rewarding in this casino! 

Teach your dog that coming when called is a fun game by calling him back and forth between family members who praise and reward him for each correct response.  

Choose a Release Word 

Unless you expect your dog to look at you or stay in a position forever, you’ll need to choose a word that means he is released and is essentially on his own time. A lot of people use “okay” or “all done.” From here on, you will be teaching your dog that the only time he is released is when you have given another command, given his release word, or marked a behavior with the clicker or the word “yes,” which means that he has accomplished the behavior you wanted and is done. The clearer you are in this regard, the easier you will make things for your dog. It will confuse him if you sometimes allow him to get up from a sit before you have said the re- lease word and then other times get frustrated and reprimand him for doing so. 

A great way to teach your dog that training is fun is to ignore him when you re- lease him. You want your dog to beg you to ask him to do something else so that he has another opportunity to interact with you and be rewarded. You want a dog who loves to be in the training game, not a dog who anticipates being released. 

So, when you begin teaching any of the basic positions (sit, down, and stand), be sure to say “okay,” “all done,” or whichever release words you choose to let your dog know that he may move. At first, this will be after a one-second position hold, but you will gradually build up to three, five, ten seconds and more before you release. 

Teach your dog his release cue simply by saying it and then calmly encouraging him to move. If you are using a clicker and/or the word “yes,” note that this marker lets your dog know that he is all done as well. You can offer the food reward from your hand or drop it on the ground to encourage your dog to move out of the position he was in. 

 Sit

Most people can think of at least a few reasons for teaching a dog to sit. For example, you want your dog to sit instead of jump on people or to sit rather than run out the door. There are, however, many other uses for this position. In fact, a reliable sit is probably the most underrated and underused command in the dog world. Aside from socialization, “sit” is the best way to prevent and solve many behavior problems, including lunging when on leash, chewing inappropriate items, harassing the cat, barking, and overall lack of impulse control (see Chapter 6).

Good Times to Sit 

• At the front door (going in and out) 

•  When greeting people 

• While meals are being prepared 

• In elevators 

• Every 20 to 30 feet on a walk 

• Before being let off leash 

• Frequently during play sessions and games 

• Before you throw a tennis ball or disc 

• Before all good times (such as couch privileges) 

Down 

Generally, you use “down” to instruct your dog to remain in position for longer periods, such as in the living room while guests are getting settled and a lot of activity is happening. “Down” is also an aid for house training. By asking your dog to settle down for a lengthy period, you can accurately predict when he needs to go to his doggy toilet (when he gets up) and take him there to reward him when he goes. “Down” may also be used as an emergency command (for example, if your dog gets off leash, you can ask him to lie down to get him under control and back on leash) and to prevent a slew of unwanted and annoying behaviors.  

Good Times to Down 

Whenever a sit would be inappropriate (such as when you need the dog to be stationary for a long period) 

• Every 20 to 30 feet on walks to ensure that he is attentive to you 

• To calm an overexcited dog 

• In the waiting room at the veterinarian’s office 

• During your meals 

Stand 

“Stand” is the easiest position for examining and grooming your dog. If your dog stands still, your veterinarian and groomer will absolutely love you. 

It’s also vital to teach a third position change. Stand is a wonderful choice. If you teach just sit and down and alternate between them (sit, down, sit, down, as in doing puppy push-ups), the dog learns to anticipate the next position. If he is sitting, the next position will be down. In this case, your dog doesn’t actually learn the meaning of the words, but rather that one behavior leads to the next predictable behavior. So each time you ask your dog to sit, he is likely to predict that down is next and go right into it. But if you teach at least three positions, your dog has to wait for the appropriate instruction. With three body positions to choose from, from each position there are two that you might ask for. For example, from a sit, you can ask your dog for a down or a stand, from a down you can ask for a sit or a stand, and from a stand you can ask for a sit or a down. So, by teaching three position changes, you are actually training the dog to pay attention and really learn what the words mean.

Good Times to Stand 

• While being examined at the veterinarian’s office 

• While being bathed and groomed 

• When being petted by a person in a chair on a therapy visit to a hospital or nursing home

Preparation Checklist: Teaching the Basics

 ✓ Carefully choose the classroom. 

✓ Precisely define the words you teach your dog. 

✓ Teach your dog to pay attention when you say his name. 

✓ Teach your dog a release word.  

If you’ve accomplished all four of these steps, then you and your dog are ready to move on.   

The Six Position Changes 

Remember that when you are teaching three body positions, you’re actually teaching six position changes: 

1. Stand to sit 
2. Stand to down
3. Sit to down 
4. Sit to stand 
5. Down to sit 
6. Down to stand 

Some changes are easier or more difficult than others. For example, it’s easy to get a dog to stand or lie down when sitting; it’s much harder to get him to sit when lying down or to lie down from the standing position. Luck- ily, lure/reward training (see page 163) makes the process easier, and there is no better way to teach rapid position changes.

The Six Position Changes 

Stand to Sit 

Sit to Down 

Down to Stand 

Stand to Down 

Down to Sit 

Sit to Stand 

Name It When Your Dog Knows It! 

Reward-based trainers differ from traditional trainers in that they wait until the animal understands a behavior well before using a verbal command, or cue. A cue is the name you give a behavior, such as “sit.” Until your dog knows the behavior, it is useless to try to teach him a word for the behavior. You’ll just end up saying “sit, sit, sit!” with no response since your dog doesn’t know what you want. 

When your dog confidently repeats a behavior in response to a hand lure or offers the behavior automatically, and you are sure that he understands what he has to do to get a reward, he is ready to learn the cue for the behavior. Teach your dog the cue by saying or doing it right before he repeats the behavior. For example, if your dog is sitting promptly and reliably after you take a step and stop, you know that the next time you do so he is likely to sit. So say “sit” right before you stop. As always, repetition and reinforcement are the keys to your dog understanding to listen for the cue that tells him to sit. 

There are three methods for teaching your dog the basics

• Capturing/shaping  

• Lure/reward training  

• Physical prompting 

Capturing 

Capturing is an exceptionally good method of training. One neat thing about it is that you are creating a dog who is a great problem solver—a terrific quality in any student. You’re letting your dog know, “I’ve got something you want here; what do you think you have to do to get it?” Then you just wait until the dog works it out himself and gets it right. It’s a fun little game, and dogs love it. 

Basically, this is the method of choice for just about all dogs, including rambunctious dogs, fearful dogs, and aggressive dogs (in other words, dogs who don’t yet like being touched). Although time-consuming at first, once you get going and your dog understands that he has to figure out what is expected in order to get the reward, training will move along like gangbusters. This is a great way to teach your dog to do just about anything, from sitting on cue to completing a complicated series of tricks. In fact, animals you see in the movies and commercials are all trained in this way. Capturing and shaping creates a dog who performs reliably and happily. 

To begin, you simply stay quiet and wait for your dog to offer a behavior you want. The moment it happens, you mark with a click of your clicker or by saying “yes” and reward.  

Sit 

To teach your dog to sit, hold a handful of your dog’s dry food or special treats and wait for him to sit. Don’t say a word; let him figure out what he has to do to get what you have. You can speed things up if you keep your dog on a leash. Step on it so it’s just long enough for your dog to stand, sit, and lie down comfortably. If you just stand still, your dog is likely to throw his entire behavioral repertoire at you — he may paw, bark, and so on. Ignore behaviors other than sitting. The first sit may take a few minutes, but don’t lose your patience during this initially slow part of an otherwise rapid process. Pretty soon he’ll sit. Mark the moment his rear hits the ground with the clicker or by saying “yes” and give him the reward. 

The wonderful thing about capturing and shaping is that you just amuse yourself and wait for your dog to figure out what you want. 

How Many Miles per Gallon, How Many Sits per Piece of Food? 

Get the most out of your dog’s food. Most owners go to the kitchen and prepare their dog’s dinner while he goes crazy bouncing all over. Then the owner rewards this behavior by giving the dog dinner. Instead, ask your dog for a few sit, stand, and down repetitions before you give him his dinner. Better yet, spend five minutes using a few individual pieces of food to get your dog to play the training game with you. See how many sits or downs you can get for each piece.  

The click means the end of the behavior, so your dog may have gotten up already, but you can say your release word to remind him that he is free to move about, take one step away from him, and wait for him to sit again. The sit should occur in a little less time than the last. By the time you have done six to ten sits, the dog will be sitting instantaneously each time you stop. He will have figured out which “button to push” to get you to release a piece of food. 

Once you can predict when your dog will sit (when you stop), you are ready to say “sit” right before you think it will happen (when you stop). This way, you are beginning to teach your dog the verbal cue for sitting.  

Down and Stand 

The technique for the sit also applies to down and stand. Work on each of these behaviors separately. Simply wait for your dog to “give” you these behaviors, and promptly reward him for doing so. As with teaching “sit,” it may take a few moments for your dog to offer the first down or stand. But after you mark and reward  the first offering of either behavior, each one is likely to be offered more quickly thereafter. After six to ten repetitions, your dog is likely to have figured out that lying down and standing in front of you are “buttons to push” to get you to release a piece of food. 

Once you can predict when your dog will lie down or stand (when you stop), you are ready to say “down” or “stand” right before you think either behavior will happen.  

Lure/Reward Training Sit  

Basically, by luring your dog to move his nose, the rest of his body will follow. So, if you hold a piece of food in your hand and slowly lift it upward and backward over your dog’s nose, passing it between his eyes, his rear end will descend into the sit- ting position as he looks up to follow the food. Mark with a click or “yes” and give him a tiny treat. When you are confident that he will follow your hand movement into the sit position, you can predict when the sit will happen. So say “sit” before you move the lure, and click or say “yes” the moment his rear touches the ground and then give the reward. Again, the marker says that the behavior is done and he is free to move, but you can also say your release word as a reminder. Be careful not to add the cue word (in this case, “sit”) until you are confident that the desired behavior will happen when you move your hand up and back. Otherwise, you are simply saying a word (“sit”), and it is not being connected with a behavior. 

So that your dog learns to do a reliable sit on request regardless of his body position in relation to yours (that is, not just in front of you), practice this exercise with him in as many variations as possible, including him at your side, you in a chair, and him lying down.  

Practice, Practice, Practice

Once you’ve taught your dog the position changes, you can practice many, many times throughout the day. Three- to five-minute training sessions are best. Just ask your dog to come and do a few position changes for a few tiny, tasty treats, or for the privilege of getting on the couch, or before you throw a tennis ball.  

Down 

To get your dog to lie down, hold your hand with the food lure in it in front of his nose and move it straight down to the ground and slightly in toward his chest. Your dog will fold down like a table as his nose follows the lure, and so will his forequarters. Usually, a dog will lie down completely at this point. If he does, mark the moment his stomach is flat on the ground with a click or by saying “yes” and give him the tiny piece of food. If the dog’s nose and forequarters go down but his rear end is still sticking up in the air, however, push the food lure gently toward his chest a little more, and as your dog pushes back to sniff, his rear end will collapse to the ground. 

Getting your dog to lie down may take a few tries. Try working on a slippery surface to begin. This will make it much easier to get your dog to slide to the ground. But don’t let him have the lure until he is lying down. He can sniff at your hand, but keep it closed around the food lure. Don’t say anything. He will eventually lie down, and then you can click or say “yes” and open your hand to give him the food. Release him and repeat the routine many times in each three- to five-minute training session. 

There is a trick for luring little or short-legged dogs into a down. Simply place your dog at the top of a flight of stairs and position yourself one step down. Use your hand with the lure to guide the dog’s head below the stair. After a few repetitions on the stairs, you and your pooch will be ready to try it on a flat surface. You can also entice your dog to lie down by luring him to crawl under your bent leg. 

Stand 

To teach your dog to stand on command, move the food from in front of the dog’s nose to where his nose would be if he were standing. If your dog does not stand up, waggle the treat a little, and soon he will rise. When he stands, immediately mark with a click or a “yes” and give the reinforcement.  

Five Steps to Eliminating the Lure 

While lures can be useful in training, your goal should be to use ’em and lose ’em as fast as possible. To phase out food (or other lures), simply stop holding the lure in your hand. You will find that if you make the same hand movement you did when you held a food lure, you have a hand signal! So the dog learns hand signals very quickly. Mark the behavior and offer a treat from the other hand as a reward. If he doesn’t respond to the empty-handed hand signal, simply try again. The five steps to eliminating the use of a lure in training are: 

1. Lure in hand, reward every time.

2. No lure in hand, reward from other hand every time. 

3. No lure in hand, reward from other hand randomly. 

4. No lure in hand, someone else hands you the reward or you get the reward from someplace else.

5. No lure in hand; use life rewards most of the time, like continuing a walk, verbal praise, and petting; offer the occasional food reward.

Rover Rollover 

Teaching your dog to roll over as a trick is a gentle way to get him to tolerate and even enjoy being in a vulnerable position, which he might not otherwise be comfortable with. The lure/reward method is a good choice for teaching a dog to roll over. Lure your dog into a down, and then use the lure to guide his head to the ground so that he’s lying flat on one side. Now move the lure over your dog’s shoulder so that he must twist his neck a bit to follow it. When his feet start to go up, move the lure a little more quickly. When he rolls all the way over, mark with a click or “yes” and open your hand to give him a small piece of the lure as a reward while he’s still lying down. Once your dog has begun to roll over quickly when you use your hand to lure him, add the words “roll over” as you lure your dog. Remember that this is a vulnerable position for your dog, so don’t lose patience if it takes a little while for him to feel confident enough to roll over. Some dogs are more comfortable learning this trick first on a soft surface (such as a rug or a towel) and then working on regular flooring. 

One of the drawbacks of physical prompting is that dogs learn they can do what they like when they are out of reach. 

Physical Prompting 

Many people are familiar with the techniques to physically prompt a dog to sit, lie down, and stand. If done correctly, the dog may learn when touched on the rump or when gently touched between his shoulders to assume the appropriate position. At first, the methods seem to get a quick response, but, in fact, physical prompting is surprisingly time-consuming and not nearly as effective or fun as the other two approaches. Because touch is so important to dogs, your dog will selectively attend to the touch. In effect, he doesn’t even hear the instructions you give. Teaching your dog verbal commands from the outset using capturing and shaping or lure/ reward training is much more effective.  

Maintain a Good Attitude 

Your dog’s enthusiasm for learning depends greatly on you, so never try to train if you’re feeling irritable. 

Using a word to tell your dog to stay is repetitive if you have already decided to teach your dog that the words “sit,” “down,” and “stand” mean to stay in position until released or asked to do something else. But feel free to use the word “stay” if it makes you happy. 

A sit-stay is useful when something is going on and you need short-term control. A down-stay is useful for long-term control. A stand-stay is helpful for having your dog stand still for an examination or grooming. 

Using the capturing and lure/reward methods, just wait to reward for the sits, downs, or stands that are incrementally longer. Pure simplicity! 

For example, ask your dog to sit, and mark and reward him when he does. The next time, wait for your dog to remain sitting for a full second before marking and rewarding. If your dog gets up beforehand, just ask him to sit and try again. It should not take him long to figure out (without you yelling “stay!”) that staying in position is the way to get the reward. 

When your dog is staying reliably for one second, wait for two seconds of sit- ting before marking and rewarding. Then go for three seconds, five, eight, ten, fifteen, twenty, and so on. Vary the length of time you ask your dog to stay, some- times decreasing to a level far below your goal. For example, if he is becoming reliable with a thirty-second down-stay, you should still frequently ask and reward him for three- to ten-second stays. With this approach, it will surprise you how quickly your dog learns quite lengthy stays. 

Hands-off reward methods create a good foundation for off-leash distance control. 

As you make any task more difficult, be sure to follow it with an extra-generous reward. So, if your dog is holding a stay for fifteen seconds for the first time, he might deserve a jackpot reward of three tiny treats as opposed to the typical one. 

Proofing Stays 

The process of proofing your dog’s stays — or making sure that he focuses on you no matter what the circumstances — comprises the three D’s:

• Increasing the duration 

• Increasing the distractions 

• Increasing the distractions 

Eventually, your dog will understand that he is to stay in position for an ex- tended period when there are numerous distractions, while he remains a distance away from you. But you need to work on each component separately and gradually. Building duration, distractions, and distance is like turning up the volume on a stereo. If you raise the level too high too fast, your dog won’t be able to concentrate on what you are asking him to do. Make things easier on yourself and your dog: go slowly. When you increase the difficulty of one D, decrease the difficulty of another. So if you have built up to a reliable ten second stay and are now working on adding a distraction, be sure to decrease the duration to a brief moment or two. Basically, with each increase in duration, added distraction, or added bit of distance, you are asking more of your dog. So do your best to set him up for success by making some other part of the equation easier, whether it be lessening the other D’s or in- creasing the value of the rewards your dog can earn.

Doubles, Anyone? 

Playing the training game with two handlers at once can be very helpful, especially if you are working on distance and distractions. One person can stay next to the dog to help and reward him, while the other person moves a distance away and/or creates distractions. 

Increasing the Duration 

By simply delaying the reward, you will increase the length of time your dog stays in the required position. Hold on to that piece of food for two seconds and mark the behavior of staying in that position with a click or a “yes” and reward. Then see if you can hold on to the kibble for four seconds. If your dog gets up, either ask him to get back into position (sit, down, or stand) again or simply ignore him and wait for him to figure it out. (This is another time when it’s good to have your dog on a leash that you’re stepping on or that’s connected to a stationary object.) 

Remember, stays are much harder for your dog in the presence of a single distraction. So keep the distance and duration short and up the level of rewards. 

Increasing the Distractions 

Start training your dog with as few distractions as possible. Then gradually increase them, one by one, until your dog responds reliably no matter what the distraction. 

Start with a very mild distraction. What is considered mild will vary from dog to dog. For some, the presence of a tennis ball rolling across the floor is enough to send them skyrocketing to the moon, while others wouldn’t bat an eye. You know your dog best, so start off with something he isn’t very interested in. 

As you add distractions, increase the rewards and decrease the length of time. For example, for a dog who is able to do a nice thirty-second sit without new distractions, ask for a three-second sit in the presence of a tennis ball. At the same time, lavishly praise him and offer a nice food reward for his success.  

Increasing the Distance 

When you work on building up the distance you can walk away from your dog while he is sitting or lying down, remove distractions and decrease the length of time you ask him to hold a position. Move just one step away, and mark with a click or by saying “yes” and reward with a tiny treat if he stays. If he gets up, step back and ask him to sit or lie down again or wait for him to do so. Take a tiny step away again, and go right back to praise and reward him if he stays put. The next time, step two steps away for a short period. Then try three steps, five, eight, ten, and so on until you can walk far away and your dog stays put. 

When proofing stays, increase your distance from your dog gradually and progressively. 

Gradually increase the distance you move away, and don’t forget to increase the rewards as you ask for more difficult behavior. If at any point your dog gets up, don’t get mad at him. Calmly ask him for the appropriate position once more, or wait for him to figure out that he needs to offer it on his own.  

Time and Training 

Keep training sessions short, and stop while your dog still wants to play the training game. Short and frequent sessions are the best policy. Twenty-five three-minute training sessions a day will give you and your dog ample opportunity to build up reliability, even around enticing distractions. Setting aside an hour-long training session for your dog each day isn’t very realistic or effective. Doing so can make the process seem long and boring for you and your dog. Having a specific training time is great, but remember that your dog is really being trained every waking moment, whether you’re there or not.