Growing Up Idunn - Heel Position

We are continuing our video series this month with puppy Idunn as she demonstrates learning the “heel” position. Calling a dog to “heel” entails the dog moving to the handler’s left side (not necessarily ending with a “sit”; more on that later). The key part of the command is NOT the dog’s final position, but rather the dog responding to the command by moving into position, without needing the leash or hands-on adjustments.

In order to learn the “heel” command, most dogs need to learn about hind end awareness. Many pups are unaware of the location of their back feet. So their front end might be in the heel position, but their back feet are stuck out to the side. Ultimately, we want the puppies to have a nice, tucked-in heel position, so they are out of the way and in line with the handler. However, using external positioning, such as with your hands, does not do much to teach dogs to tuck themselves in.

In the video below, I am working with 18 week old Idunn (pronounced “Eden”) for the second time. She is being puppy raised by a coworker, so I will be using her over the next few months as a “demo dog”. This month, the topic of the video is heel position. In particular, the video addresses an extremely common issue, which is that her default position tends to be in front. She wants to look at my face, and also the treat bag (which is on the right hand side). So she tends to swing out to face me.

The training session consisted of three 5-minute sessions, with little breaks in between and a short walk before and after. We worked on “heel”, loose leash walking, and “down/under” in order to keep things interesting. Idunn is food motivated, but wilts a little bit if the training feels too much like a drill or is too repetitive. She is at a sensitive age (teething!), so keeping things short and fun is essential. I will post the entire video of our training session later for those that are interested.

This video is cut to show clips of our progress with “heel”.

Growing Up Idunn - Heel from Southeastern Guide Dogs on Vimeo.

In the first 10 seconds, I am walking in a small area to gauge her position. She tends to be in front of me, so I walk backwards. She walks towards me, then I begin walking forward abruptly; this makes her naturally turn and end up in a rough approximation of heel position, so I reach down with a reward with my left hand. However, I do not release the reward right away. I keep it at nose-level and begin to turn her head out and away from me. At 12 seconds, can you see her back feet scoot in? I mark that with a “YES” and reward.

That “scoot in” motion was the focus of the first step of heel position. This teaches Idunn to become more conscious of what her back feet are doing. In order to get a nice, neat heel position, she will have to learn how to swing in her rear end.

As she chews her treat (a piece of kibble), she moves around to the front again. That’s okay, but now I switch to luring. I show her a treat and lure her into the “horseshoe heel”, taking a small step back with my left foot, then take a step forward so she has enough room to move into position. Her rear end scoots in (notice how the treat lure still has her head turned away from me) and I mark and feed.

Idunn is a jumpy puppy, like the vast majority of pups, so I just ignore any jumps towards the treat or the treat bag. Remember our patience session from last month? She sits very nicely and patiently much of the time throughout this video. I wouldn’t expect her to never jump, especially as I am not her normal handler, but already the frequency is much reduced during the training session.

Notice how she compresses a little at 56 seconds as she follows the treat. She is a little overwhelmed/excited; she is not unhappy, but she is under some pressure. This is normal for this age, and for the general temperament range of our dogs. At 1:09, she compresses but follows with a great butt tuck-in, which gets rewarded. Notice her waggy, happy attitude in general.

In the next part of the clip, I am luring her with an empty hand. It took a few tries for her to be patient enough to wait for the treat to arrive after she realizes the hand is empty, so we add a “sit”. That keeps her still long enough to wait for the treat to arrive. The video shows that success.

At 1:33, I’ve added a treat back into my luring hand to keep her motivation and drive up; you can see that she’s a little hesitant to follow the hand (she doesn’t realize that there is a treat in it this time). I switch back to a treat-less hand, and she is hesitant again. She wants to jump up to the treat bag, but my lack of input makes her realize that jumping is not going to get her what she wants. She finally makes the right choice, and I quickly transfer a treat into my luring hand. Can you see the lightbulb going on over her head?

The end of the video shows where we ended the training session. She executes the heel PERFECTLY. She gets a jackpot (several treats in a row) and we end the session.

Remember that this video is a compilation of clips. The training session itself was around 15 minutes long, with lots of breaks for play, praise, and just a chance to chill out and be a dog; we also worked on other commands to keep things interesting. If Idunn checked out or seemed to be distracted, we took a break. By keeping the pressure low, I had a dog who wanted to work (and would actually “ask” to keep working even we were on a break). I kept a high rate of reinforcement, because she is still learning. As she begins to understand what I’m teaching her, she won’t need so many treats. As it was, over the course of the session, I kept increasing my expectations, and she, in turn, worked harder to earn her reward.

Whether the dog sits at heel or not is up to you. For a dog with a lot of drive and oomph, I might use a “sit” just about every time. If it becomes an automatic sit, that is okay. I prefer that over jumping and lunging. For a dog who tends to be nervous or hangs back, I might reinforce standing heel position, or call them to heel and immediately move into loose leash walking, to reinforce drive and motion. It depends on the dog and the skills we are working on.

The ultimate goal with “heel” is to teach the dog to default to the heel position, especially to receive a reward. In guide work, we need the dog to stop at the curb and maintain her alignment at the handler’s left side. This technique is a positive way for puppy raisers to really reinforce the left-side training, and to begin to teach the dog not to swing out to face the handler.

Impulse control around food (video demonstrations included)

Using treats in dog training can be tricky. It always starts well enough: the dog is motivated, quick to learn and respond, and gazes up at you adoringly. But what happens when you start to wean off of the treats? Or when you don’t have treats on you? What do you do when the puppy just wants to stare at the treat bag, or jumps at your hand, or seems to only work for treats, causing you to go through large quantities?

Firstly, consider what you are using as treats and how many the dog is receiving. Motivated dogs may work well for their own kibble. The benefit of this is that it’s easy to measure out their meals and make sure the dog isn’t getting too much to eat; it is also easy to deliver, since the pieces are usually pretty large. For dogs that are on a growth spurt and think they are starving all of the time, kibble may be less distracting than stinky, soft treats. The potential negatives are that it may be a “lower value” reward in terms of motivation, it (usually) takes time for a pup to chew it, and the dog may get full faster. Soft treats are often highly motivating, easy to break into tiny pieces, and quick for the dog to ingest. However, some pups will be highly distracted by the smell, and they may tend to get too wound up; it can also be more difficult to measure out appropriate portions.

I tend to split the difference and use a flavor of kibble that the dog doesn’t normally eat. I have found that some of the small breed, grain-free lines of kibble, especially the “fish and potato” flavored kibble, are considered a treat by most dogs and are perfectly sized (as well as being economical and healthier compared to most treats).

In order to instill good behaviors and patience around food, I like to play a few impulse control games. I show the puppy the treat bag, but then I will put it aside, within view but out of reach. My goal is to teach the puppy to work for me AWAY from the treat bag. I do the same exercise with the bowl, setting up patience at meal time.

1. Put the treat bag on a table. Be sure it’s out of reach (for some dogs, this may mean on top of the refrigerator!). I like to play this game at home and off the leash first. The dog is going to have to make some hard choices, and I want him to make the choice internally, rather than relying on external motivations (like tugs on the leash).
2. Let the puppy see you put the bag on the table. Take a few (3 – 4) kibbles in your hand, back away from the table, and call the puppy; I tend to start with just the dog’s name, rather than using the “come” command, because I expect that the dog might not listen. “Wolfie, pup pup puppy! I’ve got cookies over here!”
3. If Wolfie comes to you, great! Give him the kibbles from your hand one at a time (this is called a “jackpot”), then run over to the treat bag and give him a kibble from it.
4. If Wolfie stares longingly at the treat bag, or tries to put his paws on the table, ignore him. Do not administer a correction, verbal or otherwise. It is best to start this game when the puppy is young, so that you are certain (or at least mostly certain!) that he cannot get onto the table. We are letting the puppy make a choice: his choice is to leave the tantalizing food and come to you, or ignore you and attempt to get at the food. One choice (coming to you) is a sure thing; the other choice is futile. BE PATIENT. Occasionally remind the puppy, “Hey Wolfie, I’m over here and I’m really where the treats come from!” But otherwise ignore him. If he looks at you or heads towards you, praise him excitedly, but make sure he comes all the way to you before you reward him; do not meet him halfway. When he does finally come to you, give him the jackpot, then run with him to the table and give him his reward. Later, it will be fair to correct or interrupt the behavior of trying to put his paws on the table; right now, we want it to extinguish on it's own.
5. Over a couple of sessions, Wolfie should be willing to leave the table to come to you, although he is probably eager to return to where the bag is. Over time, ask for more. Only have one kibble in your hand when you call him and wait a few moments before giving the reward. The next time, ask him to sit and stay while you go get a reward from the bag. The next time, ask him to down and stay while you get the bowl. Ask for multiple commands. The puppy learns to make a CHOICE to work with you, and begins to trust that you will make it worth his while. The motivation does not have to be right in front of his face for him to be willing to listen. This is a challenging thing to ask of a puppy, but once they get it, they progress rapidly.
6. At meal times, you can play this game with the bowl, putting a few kibbles into the bowl at a time, eventually feeding the pup his entire meal.

In the following video, puppy Idunn (pronounced like “Eden”) and I play the impulse control game. Idunn is 14 weeks old, and this is my first time working with her. I’m gradually increasing the challenges and rewarding her for stillness. She quickly works through the challenge of being called away from the treat bag, but the bowl work is a little tougher. She tends to shift her weight and responds to every slight movement, so the goal is to wait for her to offer quiet behavior, then reward. We aren’t quite at the point where the food bowl can get all the way to the ground, so I release her when she stops fidgeting as I move the bowl.

Teaching Patience pt 1 from Southeastern Guide Dogs on Vimeo.

Whenever you are introducing a new behavior or working in a new location, it’s a good idea to start with a high rate of reinforcement: give a food reward for correct responses frequently, so the dog stays motivated and doesn’t get distracted. But you want to quickly move to a lower rate of reinforcement as the dog begins to understand what you want. Begin to delay rewards as soon as the dog begins to “guess correctly”.

So for example, if you have a young puppy who is bouncy and easily distracted, you might be working on him lying down at your side. Here are the steps you might follow:

1. “Wolfie, down.” Lure Wolfie into a down with a treat in your hand. Reward. Put the leash under your food so he can’t wander. If he pops up from the down, that’s ok (this isn’t a “stay” yet), but be sure he doesn’t have the full length of the leash to wander off with. Repeat this with the treat in your luring hand if the puppy is not particularly focused.
2. “Wolfie, down.” Lure Wolfie with an empty treat hand; have a treat ready in your other hand. Once he is down, give him the reward. This will start to teach him that even if he doesn’t see a treat, one might still be coming.
3. If Wolfie stays down for 3 seconds, deliver another treat. Now you’ve rewarded him for not popping up right away.
4. If Wolfie pops up within 3 seconds, lure him into a down with an empty treat hand. Stand up and wait for 3 seconds before delivering the treat. If he keeps popping up, re-lure him into a down with an empty treat hand. Have your foot on the leash so he doesn’t have the option of wandering away; shorten the leash if you need to. When he finally is down for 3 seconds, reward him. Then take him on a short walk to give him a brain break (this can be a tough mental exercise for a young, impatient puppy).

This short exercise begins to teach the puppy patience and to wait for treat delivery. The treat is only visible (or smell-able) for one repetition, maybe 2 if the puppy is struggling to concentrate. If I know Wolfie is distracted by other dogs, I would play this game this exact same way at the beginning of the next few meetings, and I would expect that, as each meeting progressed, he would start offering a “down” faster and faster. I would praise that, but begin delaying the treat longer and longer, until we reach the point where he may or may not get a cookie for settling. Just like people who play slot machines (which operate on a variable level of reinforcement), puppies will work harder for the possibility that they might get a treat.

Here is another video with Idunn. Prior to this video, I spent about 3 minutes working on the “down” command, which she wasn’t familiar with. Once she was following a treat lure easily, we had a play session, then started work.

For the first two repetitions, I have a treat in my hand when I’m luring her into a down and she gets the treat right away when she lies down. On the third repetition, my hand is empty, and when she’s down, I transfer a reward from my other hand. Eventually, she doesn’t immediately pop up, so I reward her again just for staying in place. Notice how I handle her confusion; she hesitates and doesn’t understand how to follow my empty hand at one point (around 1:25), so I bend down to be closer to her and give her calm, quiet praise every time she makes an effort. When I transfer the treat in order to reward her, she pops up, so I use the treat to lure her back into a down. After that, she has a breakthrough, holding her “down” while I’m standing, so we take a play break.

In the next segment of the video, she progresses quickly. Since she is holding her position well, I start adding movement. I like to start early with feet shuffling, rocking, and praising, because I don’t want her to associate my movement with a release. Even though this isn’t a formal “stay”, this is the foundation for “stay”; it also teaches her that the treat does not end the behavior. As she progresses, I would start expecting her to work without needing a treat; she would get one occasionally depending on her age and the level of distraction, but she’s learning to enjoy work. Eventually, it will be such a conditioned habit that the work itself will be rewarding.

Teaching Patience pt 2 from Southeastern Guide Dogs on Vimeo.

I never correct a dog who is trying; even though Idunn occasionally jumps or breaks out of position, she is never “wrong”. She is enthusiastic and thinking the entire time. Puppies are naturally impatient and tend to pop up as soon as they receive a treat. We want to teach them that the treat does not end the behavior. By starting early with delayed rewards, and rewarding the dog for choosing to stay settled, pups learn self control around food, and instead of tensely waiting for the treat delivery, learn to hold a position (sit or down) in a calmer manner.

House Manners - Teach What You Want Instead of What You Don't

During an informal poll conducted by yours truly, guide dog trainers were asked for the top skills they wanted puppy raisers to be focused on. Every single trainer mentioned house manners. (The other popular responses were: appropriate greeting behaviors and obedience around distractions... a topic for another time) Behavior in the house is something that we really can’t work on much on-campus, so we rely heavily on raisers to enforce manners at home.

It sounds like a simple concept, but what does it mean when we say a puppy has “good house manners”? It is easy to make a list of things we DON’T want the puppy to do:

- Don’t take food items off of the counters (“counter surfing”)
- Don’t steal tissues out of the wastebasket
- Don’t beg for food at the table
- Don’t steal the remote control and play a game of keep away with it
- Don’t ingest items (socks, books, towels, dog beds, etc)
- Don’t bolt out the door
- Don’t urinate or defecate in the house

So now we’ve established the “rules”. Except how do you communicate that to a puppy? What that list sounds like to me is a series of “NOs”. Issuing a correction to the puppy to every single one of those transgressions would be exhausting for both you and the puppy (and for what it’s worth, these are not hypothetical situations; golden retriever Kudzu at least attempted every single one of those things, and it’s a rare puppy who won’t have several checks on that list). I could tell a puppy NO to each one of those items, and she might not try it again; however, if she wasn’t given any alternative behavior, she may not actually know what she is being corrected for. For example, if she steals a tissue out of the wastebasket, she may carry it into the living room, settle onto a dog bed, and start shredding it. If I just then notice she is chewing a tissue, and I jump up and say “NO”, then take it out of her mouth, what did she learn? One thing I guarantee that she learned is that if I approach her when she has something in her mouth, I might be taking it away and scolding her. She did not associate my “NO” with the action of taking it out of the trashcan, because that happened three behaviors ago. She might eventually figure out what I mean, but it’s not particularly clear at that moment.

Any time I come up with a DON’T, my goal is to figure out what I would like the dog to do instead. It is much easier to teach behaviors you DO want. So here is my updated list:

- Down/stay on your bed when food is being prepared in the kitchen; alternatively, respect the boundary of the kitchen and go settle elsewhere when food is being prepared
- Choose your toys instead of the wastebasket, which will now be placed in more obvious places during playtime so I can offer immediate feedback
- Down/stay in a predetermined location during human meal times (can be at your feet if you’re practicing for future restaurant visits; can also be on a dog bed)
- Trade stolen items for treats or toys; making it a positive thing for a puppy to trade in “forbidden items” prevents guarding, keep away, and swallowing
- Regularly practice sit/stay at doors; sometimes you get to go through them, sometimes not
- Urinate and defecate outside

By focusing on the DOs instead of the DON’Ts, I now have a training plan starting to take shape. It is much better to be proactive with commands, strategic tie-down and crate placement, and set-ups than to wait for a bad behavior to happen and correct it.

So here is a sample training plan for a dog who steals socks (or who you think will steal socks in the future; that is the number one complaint, tied with tissue stealing).

Supplies needed:

- Treats
- The puppy’s regular toys that are out all of the time (Nylabones, Kongs, etc)
- Special soft toys that only come out for training sessions; I personally keep a Kong Wubba for such occasions
- An assortment of socks
- A short length of leash

Attach the leash to the puppy and allow it to drag. Have treats and the soft toy on a shelf out of the puppy’s reach. Spread out the puppy’s regular toys on the floor, then add some socks. Allow the puppy to make choices. If she picks up a sock, tell her it’s a beautiful sock, then thank her, and calmly take it away; then walk to the treat bag and get her a treat. Did you just teach her to pick up the sock? Isn’t that the behavior you DON’T want? What you taught her was that giving you objects is a good thing, and that you are willing to trade. This prevents swallowing and allows you to easily interrupt the behavior. If I catch a dog chewing on a sock, I would like to easily be able to call the dog to me to give me the sock, rather than having to chase her down and take it.

So back to our training session. The leash is there only to prevent her from playing a game of keep away; do NOT correct her with the leash. Instead, if she plays keep away, pick up the leash and ask her to walk with you. Walk over to the treat bag and give her a treat when she relinquishes the sock.

Bring the puppy back over to the approved toys and see if you can engage her into a play session with one of them instead. Toss a Kong or encourage her to chew on a Nylabone while you hold it. We are giving her an option to get some personal interaction with you by choosing the right toys. If her usual toys don’t have much allure and she is looking at the remaining socks (or staring up where she last saw the treat bag), bring out the special toy and see if you can get her to play with that. The goal is interactive play: wiggle the Wubba so that the little tails race across the ground, hide it behind your back, make it reappear and disappear again. Now there is a soft, vaguely sock-like toy, but it is a lot more fun than a sock that just lays there!

If the puppy is still gazing at the treats, then just do some treat-rewarded obedience with the socks spread out across the floor. After a 10 or 15 minute play/training session, pick the socks up and put them away.

Repeat this type of session frequently. Have socks make a regular appearance in daily playtime/training. This type of controlled exposure will help you identify your puppy’s favorite way to play/interact with you, and also gives you a chance to work on a “trade for a treat” in a low-pressure environment. As the sessions progress, just calmly take the sock away without a food reward and redirect him to a toy.

If you find the puppy with a sock outside of a training session, just react the same way you would in a training session. Don’t make it a big deal, just thank the puppy, tell her to “drop it”, and remove the item. If you have been working with the training sessions, she should give it up with ease. Do not dive for or snatch the item. If she’s looking dodgy, like she might run or swallow the sock, run to the treat jar and ask her for some obedience; then pick up the sock and give her a treat.

Teaching any dog, but especially a retriever, to not pick “your” items up takes time. It generally cannot be fixed in just a session or two. Approaching it with a perspective of understanding and acknowledging their instincts creates a less confrontational relationship. Puppies explore the world with their mouths more than anything else, so structured games like the one outlined above gradually teach the puppy to channel it appropriately. It also is much less work than having to be hyper-vigilant and ready to say “NO, DROP IT” 200 times a day.

When you have concerns with house manners, think of a way to set the puppy up for success instead of either correcting as it’s happening, or setting her up to fail. For housebreaking problems, such as busying inside 5 minutes after having been outside, bring the puppy inside and keep her on leash, play with her for a few minutes, then take her right back outside again. For begging, put the puppy on a tie-down (with a cozy dog bed) in view of the table; occasionally walk over and give her a piece of kibble when she is down and settled (if she gets up, put her back into a down before giving the treat). When she gets into the habit of settling on her bed whenever you are eating, wean off of the kibble. For rushing or barking at the door, practice sit/stays not only when you are taking the puppy out, but also randomly throughout the day: sit, stay, door opens, door closes, leash comes off and pup is still in the house.

The more we can establish manners in the home, the better chance of success the puppy has. Be as proactive as you can when problems arise, and do be prepared to manage the situation if necessary; my bathroom trashcan is positioned so that it is hard for a puppy to reach. My kitchen trashcan has a lid. My counters are extra spotless and laundry is put away quickly when a puppy is around. And I also make it a point to teach the puppy what I DO want, so that she learns the rules as clearly as possible.

What is a High-Stress Environment for a puppy? Part 2

Last month, we discussed the basics of skill building and managing your outings based on the puppy’s needs. This month, I want to talk about interpreting stress responses and helping the pup to cope, as well as general expectations and timelines. 

Stress does not mean “scared”

Sometimes it is easy to misread a dog’s response if they aren’t tucking their tail or hiding. Dogs that appear “happy” can still be under stress, simply from an overload of information or adrenaline, or because they are overwhelmed but aren’t showing it in “traditional” ways. This is just as concerning as a dog who is hiding or shivering. What you really want to look for is a change from the dog’s normal state of being.

Let’s look at some examples. 

A golden retriever at 10 months old gets ambushed by a group of children. She wags her tail downward rapidly, grabs the children’s sleeves, and frantically licks their faces. When the handler walks her away, she is walking faster than she was before the encounter.

A 6 month old Labrador meets a maltese. He drops to the ground, then lunges, causing the maltese to snarl. The Lab play-bows and barks, while hopping side to side, keeping about 2 body lengths between him and the small dog. When the handler walks him away, he starts sniffing and picking up sticks and acorns.

A 4 month old Goldador arrives at a meeting and the AC comes up to greet her. She pins her ears back, squints her eyes, and squats, dribbling a little urine. When the AC turns away, the Goldador leaps onto the AC’s back.

All of these dogs are exhibiting arousal. They are having a physiological response to stress or stimuli. All of these responses are out of the dogs’ normal states of being. They can add up! 

The golden may seem “fine” with children, although is “behaving badly”. The handler may teach her to control herself but if the dog has frequent meetings with children that cause that kind of arousal, she may associate children with a feeling of being overwhelmed and want to avoid them in the future. 

The Labrador may have seemed like he wanted to play, but he was actually in emotional conflict. “Play bows”, when a dog lowers his front end and puts his rear into the air, can have many uses and meanings. It generally is meant to signify, “I am not a threat”, which is why it is so useful for play: if play gets very rowdy, socially intelligent dogs will frequently stop play and bow, even subtly, seemingly to keep play from escalating too far. However, in the case of the Labrador and the Maltese, the Maltese was giving clear “back off” signals. The initial dropping to the ground shows that the Lab is not socially confident around dogs, even though it was followed up by a forward lunge. His “play bow” while the dog was growling, along with his bouncing around, demonstrates a dog who is partly frightened of the tiny dog’s rage and also unsure of what the next move is. His displacement behavior after the encounter of eating sticks and acorns is a direct result of the stress he was just under. It is important for this dog to have positive interactions with other dogs to help build his confidence. (An aside: as silly as it sounds, the little dog’s feelings absolutely are not funny and should be respected; I don’t like seeing any dog in distress, and I always tell people to imagine that it’s a Mastiff-sized dog growling.) 

The Goldador is exhibiting what is often termed “submissive urination” or “excitement urination”, which are actually two different things. “Excitement urination” would be a dog that is leaping wildly or starting play and happens to dribble; this seems to be more common in males who are coming into puberty. “Submissive urination” is usually present at an earlier age and is paired with a still body, a squatting posture, folded back ears, or even a squinty-eyed “smile”. Like the Labrador in the last answer, it is a social confidence issue, but this time with people. The Goldador’s wild leap when the AC turned her back (and thus became less threatening) also supports the confidence issue. She is in conflict and wants to greet, but finds face-to-face greetings intimidating.

These are things to be conscious of, not only for the sake of making sure the pup has a positive interaction and being able to redirect the puppy’s behavior ahead of time, but also to make sure that the puppy gets some time off from these bursts of arousal. Even if the puppy seems “happy”, the raising experience can quickly become unpleasant if the pup associates outings with frequent or constant states of arousal. Give the pup frequent “time off”, move away from stimuli when you start to notice a reaction, and set the pup up to have lower-level exposures to the stimuli so you can train a calm, appropriate response.

Square on their feet?

There is a very quick observation you can learn to make as a handler to tell if the puppy is feeling composed or if he is aroused. Dogs that are in control and relaxed are square on their feet and appear “balanced”. Dogs that are not are often leaning one way or another, have a paw raised, or have their weight unevenly distributed. (Hint: this is also a good way to tell if you tend to tighten the leash; the dog should not appear to be leaning forward all of the time)

Here are some examples of square, balanced footing versus unbalanced footing. Please note that these are just snapshots of behavior; I do not know what happened before or after the photos were taken. Also, please disregard the outdated equipment in some of the older shots.

 

Even at a young age, you can see square footing. Instead of leaping for the cookies, being poised to spring, or expressing uncertainty at the person standing in front of them, these pups have all of their paw pads square on the ground.

Observe the front legs and feet of this sitting pup. She is off balance on her first bus ride. She has leaned her weight off of her front feet and onto her haunches. While a dog's physical structure has to be taken into account as well, this dog is also showing concern in the tense facial muscles, flattened ears, and tongue-in-the-mouth panting.

Here is the same dog sitting again. See the difference in her front legs? She still sits back on her haunches a little, which is probably her structure. But this is much closer to her normal baseline; her paw pads are square to the ground and she has a very relaxed expression as well.

By contrast, here is a pup who wants something very badly. He is pushing off of his back feet, but also notice his front toes. Dogs who walk on their tip toes are experiencing arousal (this can be seen even if there isn't something they desire in front of them).

Compare this puppy's stance with the baby puppies above, as well as the dog that wants the ball. Her rear feet are behind her, but so are her back feet and her tail is low. She may be leaning forward to sniff the mascot, but she is unsure. The pup that wants the ball is ready for launch and is making himself bigger; this pup is ready for a possible quick retreat and is making herself smaller.

  

Here is a side view of a similar reaction. She is sniffing the taxidermied owl but still has a lean, a low tail, and is ready to retreat if necessary. Her stance is unbalanced on her initial exploration; even though she is sniffing the owl, she is not yet comfortable.

Continuing in "adventures in taxidermy", here is a sibling of the above dog having a  different reaction to taxidermy. She is investigating but her very square stance and mid-level tail indicate she is comfortable with the wolf (who, in this case, also to have a nice, square stance; some dogs react to taxidermy in aggressive stances but not to "passive" taxidermy - fun fact). If she were on her tip toes and her tail were held high, she would also be experiencing arousal in the other direction, but she is balanced and calm.

 

Here is a dog in conflict. She is very fixated on something (the ball I would guess), but check out her front and back legs. She is pulled away from it slightly in the front, but the pull away in her back legs is pronounced. Sometimes we see this in a dog who is afraid they will get in trouble for pursuing the ball, but the reason isn't really important; this is still a dog who is experiencing arousal and internal conflict. I would guess that any added tension on the leash would make her spring for the ball, but that it would take a little bit of time for her to come up with the courage on her own, without outside input.

 Finally, here is a more subtle one. This dog is lying down, but is leaned away from something. He is over on one hip, but his front end is not relaxed; there is tension in his left front leg as he pushes himself slightly away from something. It is at a low level at the time of the picture taking, but if you have a dog that tends to get distracted and fixated frequently, this is a good time to calmly redirect while the arousal is at a low level.

Checking balance, weight distribution, and foot placement is a simple way to check in with the puppy and decide if he’s feeling comfortable or not. Despite the variety of signals pups throw at us, this one seems pretty consistent. If you have trouble identifying this while the pup is next to you, have someone take pictures or even film you! I have someone film all of my obedience competitions with my personal dogs, as well as some training sessions, because it is a lot easier to see the areas that need work from a third-person perspective.

Thanks to Tampa AC Jan Williams for taking the photos and allowing me to use them for educational purposes.

Suggested general timeline

So in conclusion, as usual, the progress you make with the puppy you’re raising should be very dependent on how the pup is feeling. As you can see above, even dogs from the same genetic pool can express different reactions to the same stimuli. 

Keeping that in mind, here is a GENERAL suggested timeline of outings and things to work on with the puppy in order to build gradually and keep stress to a minimum. Obedience expectations should be re-tooled every time you go somewhere new, and work on achieving some success before moving on. As always, your mileage may vary and be sure to adjust as necessary.

10 weeks to 16 weeks:

• House manners
• Small neighborhood walks
• Office/work environment
• Quiet outdoor café
• Light traffic
• Short car rides

16 weeks to 6 months:

• Automatic doors
• Parking lots
• Drug store
• Grocery store at a quiet time of day
• Light to moderate traffic: allow pup to watch from a distance frequently
• Quiet restaurant

6 months to 10 months:

• Large store on a quiet day (Walmart, mall)
• Food court
• Louder restaurant
• Farmer’s market
• Small downtown area

10 months to 12 months:

• Crowds
• Revisit all areas: manners have probably declined with puberty
• Mall IF puppy can behave
• Louder traffic/downtown areas
• Warehouse stores

12 months and up:

• Puppy should be able to accompany you to most places within reason
• Some things may never be a good idea for most puppies: big malls at holiday time, rock concerts, NFL games, massive state fairs, etc.
• Don’t forget the NEVERS: theme parks, fireworks displays, zoos, riding escalators or moving sidewalks, revolving doors, dog parks.

What is a High-Stress Environment for a puppy? Part 1

How do you determine whether an outing is appropriate for the puppy you are raising? How do you know when the puppy finds things too stressful?

As is usually the case in dog training and puppy raising, it depends on the individual puppy, the current state of the environment, and previous experiences. But there are some general guidelines you can keep in mind to determine if the pup should go or stay home.

Skill Building

Puppy raising is about skill building. You start laying the basic foundation of training and experiences for the puppy. Then you gradually build on those skills. So if your pup is well-behaved in Walgreens, and has a good established history of walking through the drug store on a loose leash, without scrambling across the linoleum floor or shrinking away at the automatic doors, great! You are ready to try Publix!

But what if you get to Publix, and it’s the shiny new Publix with the parking garage, elevators, and a large crowd? Maybe when you get out of the car, the puppy exits slower than with his usual gusto, and he is looking all around the parking garage, then jumps slightly as the automatic doors slide open.

That’s the point where you want to stop, take a note of the puppy’s reaction, and honor it by proceeding slowly. Walk around the parking garage with some treats, working on basic obedience. Go through the sliding doors to the main entrance, and play some fun obedience games. Even if the puppy appears “fine”, that may be a good time to call it quits and go home. The puppy has just had to deal with a lot of stimuli. Try looking at it from his point of view: the parking garage echoes, condenses the sounds and smells of vehicles, and may have dimmer lighting. The puppy is already on alert, and as you shut your car door, it sounds louder than it ever has before. So now maybe he is hyper-aware of all of the changes around him. Then you approach an automatic door, and while he’s seen the Walgreens door, he’s never seen THIS door, and the smell inside of the store is different than Walgreens. Plus, maybe a large family is exiting as you are getting ready to enter.

That is a lot for a puppy to take in, even a very confident and brave puppy! Spend 15 minutes socializing, doing fun obedience, and having a positive experience in the quietest part of the entrance you can find, and send whoever else you are with up to get any groceries you might need (many of you have heard me give this piece of advice: if you’re going alone to the grocery store with plans to actually shop, leave the pup at home… grocery store outings with the puppy should be about the puppy). Then go home.

The next time you visit that Publix, your pup will remember it as a place where some potentially scary things happened, but he had fun! And the scary parts didn’t last that long… so maybe this time, he is ready to try the elevator.

Ideally, a pup should not have an experience if he hasn’t learned the basic elements leading up to it.

“Exposures” is a mis-leading word

The purpose of taking a pup into different environments or introducing him to different stimuli is NOT to help him get used to it. Socialization really ends at 16 weeks; we complete a LOT of socialization in the puppy kennel, with a very carefully designed program. There are times in a puppy’s life (4 – 6 weeks of age) when they are naturally very curious and have little to no startle/fear response, so we break down the elements of important guide dog exposures and build a reference library for the puppy of sights, smells, sounds, and textures.

So during the age of 10 – 16 weeks, we’re looking to have raisers do some socialization with people, with household living, and small neighborhood exposures. The puppy can be a little more sensitive and likely to startle during this time, so keeping things positive, light, and fun is extremely important.

“Exposures” (I actually prefer the word “outings”) are really opportunities to gradually teach the puppy to behave and develop good habits, as well as to ascertain if the puppy shows any areas of concern.

Outings for the puppy should be gradual and based on his behavior. It is so important to be focused on the puppy when you are out and about because it is all about them. Bad behaviors can become habits very quickly; we cannot stress enough how important foundation behaviors and a good behavior history are. It is impossible to expose a guide dog puppy to every single thing that they might encounter as a guide dog. So let’s say you can’t get the puppy you’re raising onto a plane, maybe because you aren’t traveling anywhere that you could bring the puppy. If he has a history of being taught to walk nicely in crowds, focusing in spite of loud metal noises, settling nicely when riding on public transportation, and being obedient even when people try to talk to him, he is very likely going to handle his first airport as a guide dog just fine.

By the same token, if you are raising a puppy who gets overwhelmed by crowds, tucks his tail or startles at loud noises, or is unsettled on bus rides, that doesn’t necessarily mean he is out of the running to be a guide dog; however, that is important information to find out on your outings with the puppy, so the trainers can make an appropriate match later on. If the dog has that information recorded in his puppy history, they will not match him with someone who travels regularly on airplanes.

So “exposures” are really not about making sure the puppy gets around certain stimuli in order to “expose” him; it is actually about teaching him all of the basic behaviors, and also about gathering information.

Coming next month: What is a High-Stress Environment for a puppy? Part 2!

One thing at a time

Dogs are always learning. They tend to be very aware of actions and their consequences, good and bad, and will repeat behaviors that work for them. The good news is that a dog’s tendency to learn new things is what makes them great working partners. The bad news is that bad habits can take hold very quickly, without us even being aware of them. Dogs are being trained all of the time, whether it is by us or by the environment.

So that means that every time a pup pulls on the leash while the handler follows behind, the pup makes a mental (unconscious) note that pulling on the leash got him what he wanted (increased speed towards a distraction). The more “success notes” the pup collects, the more ingrained the behavior becomes.

On the other hand, if the raiser is very conscious of the pup’s tight leash and stops just about every time the pup surges forward, and changes direction if the pup is very persistent, the pup makes a note that pulling did not succeed in getting him to his destination faster.

Keep in mind that most of the behaviors we are asking our pups to learn don’t necessarily make sense to them, or even come naturally. So stopping when the pup pulls on the leash is great for preventing habit formation, but you will also have to teach him what you DO want. It often does not occur to pups to walk calmly and nicely on a leash even if they are excited, so we have to help shape that behavior.

But what about the times when you just need to get somewhere, and don’t have time to stop and work on leash manners? Proper leash manners are one of the core foundation behaviors that can and should be worked on at home, consistently, in low-distraction environments before true “outings” start. If the puppy you are raising doesn’t know how to walk nicely on the leash in a quiet neighborhood, he is not ready to try a grocery store.

When you are raising a guide dog pup, there are a ton of commands and expectations outlined in your manual. It is important to start with the basics though, and build slowly. Start at level 1 of leash walking: practicing in a quiet neighborhood with lots of treats and toys, for 5 – 10 minutes at a time, a few times a day. Leave with the pup wanting more. After a few sessions, try level 2: take a longer walk or try a different part of the neighborhood. Eventually you should get to level 3: reduce the treats and rewards, and maintain the good habit. When you feel confident that the pup has a good understanding of how to pay attention to you and respond to the leash, then try for an actual “outing”. Be prepared to go back to level 1, because of the new and exciting environment! It’s not fair to start training in a very distracting environment; instead, we want to lay a strong foundation at home or in quiet places. Then, when you and the pup arrive in a challenging environment, it won’t take long to establish those same good habits.

This same type of training structure can be applied to “problem behaviors”. I get questions year round about scavenging problems, but it seems to reach a frenzy right around acorn season. If the puppy you are raising tends to scavenge on leash or in coat, whether it is food or acorns, continuing to take him out without directly addressing the problem causes the habit to build quickly. Often, we tend to correct and then move on. But the problem tends to persist when no direction is given; remember that dogs make mental notes, and if scavenging occasionally works out for them, they will continue to make attempts. By the same token, if you spend all of your time scolding the pup and pulling acorns out of his mouth, he may start to get hand-shy or avoidant of you when he has gotten hold of a “prize”.

So take the pup on a walk around some acorns. When he starts to lunge for them, stop and wait; be sure that the pup cannot actually grab the acorns. When the pup looks at you (or at least stops trying to get the item of his desire), reward him! Then walk away and try it again. Eventually, build up to changing directions a few times before he gets the treat; then try to walk past the acorns. Then end your training session. Repeat this same sequence later in the day. Don’t take the pup on long walks in areas densely populated with acorns until you have worked on this skill. Frequent short walks that are heavy on the mental workout (in this case, acorn avoidance) do actually make a dog tired, and they help to establish the foundation for good habits. There is no quick fix; it takes some work to teach a retriever that everything doesn’t belong in his mouth!

You can do this same exercise with food, socks, tissues, crumpled up papers, or any other number of things that the pup is tempted by. But be sure to remove the opportunity for failure as much as you can. If scavenging at restaurant tables is a problem, stop taking the pup to restaurants until you work on the problem at home, with your own table and purposely dropped food. When you decide the pup is ready to try a restaurant again, go out to eat with the mindset that this is a training session; you eating warm food may have to be secondary until the pup settles. If your puppy steals socks out of the hamper, physically limit access and make sure that all socks are picked up, so that you can lay out deliberate set-ups. It isn’t about “catching the dog in the act”, but rather giving them a clear choice and showing them the right answer. It is not fair to correct a dog if he hasn’t been made aware of what the appropriate behavior should be.

Martingales and collar response

Martingales may be new to us as a standard collar, but they have been popular in the dog training world for years. There are several benefits to martingale collars: they are nearly impossible to put on backwards, they are very adjustable, a puppy cannot back out of them, and best of all, they are very safe and comfortable for the dog.

The Greyhound world popularized martingales, because the Greyhound’s sleek build made it easy for them to slip out of traditional buckle collars, but chain collars could easily cause discomfort or injury to their slender necks. Now, martingales have increased in popularity and are usually easy to find. Also known as a “limited slip collar”, martingales hang loose until pressure is applied; with pressure, the collar tightens to a limited degree. A “slip collar” (the chain training collar), will continue to close until it hits resistance (the dog’s neck). The thick width of the martingale creates a more comfortable and safer fit for the dog than you would find with a slip collar.

Martingales have a main loop that goes around the dog’s neck and a secondary loop that the leash fastens to, allowing for loosening and tightening. The secondary loop can be made of fabric or chain. It is personal preference as to which you use. A properly fitted martingale, when tightened, will have a small space between the two rings. There should not be a gap between the collar and the neck. A pup in our program can wear this collar as early as 16 weeks old. Size of the puppy should be taken into account when deciding to switch to a martingale. Pups with delicate necks may benefit from wearing a buckle collar longer.

It’s important to remember that one of your jobs as a handler is to work on leash management and collar response. Puppies and dogs tend to respond to a tight leash by pulling harder. The following exercise can help teach a pup to respond to a tight leash with attention, rather than hard pulling. It takes practice and repetition, and is best started at a young age.

1. Leash the puppy and start your walk. However, the walk should NOT start if you have an over-stimulated puppy. If you’re trying to get out the front door, and the puppy is sitting but ready to launch, wait until the puppy settles before releasing him to go outside. This may take time; patience is important! If he launches out the door, stop and redirect him to come back inside and try again.

2. Starting and stopping can be a very powerful motivator. Dogs want to continue walking, so often just stopping and becoming boring can help. When the leash goes tight, stop and wait. When the puppy loosens the leash, either by accident or because he’s turning to look at you, praise him happily and start the walk again.

3. Stopping and starting using praise alone will work well for a lot of puppies. However, with a particularly excited puppy OR in a very distracting environment, the pup may entertain himself by sniffing or scavenging when you stop, instead of worrying about the leash. In that case, shorten your leash so the puppy cannot self-entertain, and stop and wait. When the puppy, accidentally or deliberately, loosens the leash, use your marker word (“Yes!”) and give a treat.

4. After several repetitions, you should notice the puppy quickly looking up at you every time the leash tightens. Reward this every time initially. You should not initially be picky about the puppy’s position; in front of you is fine at this point.

5. Begin weaning off of frequent treating; deliver the treat after the puppy has looked up at you, then has walked on a loose leash for several steps. Now you only want to reward the puppy when he is at your left side and walking or standing.

This technique can be done in just a few minutes at a time, and is useful in many environments. The goal is to install a quick response of attention when the leash tightens. Start in a low distraction environment, and then “warm up” in new, distracting environments by starting over with this technique. The puppy should learn to generalize and have an improved response to the tight collar. It may seem like you use a lot of treats in the beginning, but initial frequent use of treats followed by a gradual weaning off helps to “set” the behavior. Once you have shown the puppy the “right answer”, commands and expectations make more sense.