Find It! A Useful and Playful Behavior Cue

I’ve tried out MANY dog training techniques, tools, games and cues on my Bears, particularly with Jack.  Jack is and continues to be energetic, playful and above all else, willing to work.  The motivation he demonstrates each and every day, makes my job so much easier in teaching him something new.

Before my profession took a turn towards dog training, I had no clue in how to or the benefits of harnessing a dog’s energy.  In the beginning, I was often overwhelmed, frustrated and ultimately confused in how to get a Jack Russell Terrier whose breed is used for hunting foxes.  JRT’s tenacious prey drive gets them revved up for foxes, rabbits or other small animals.  Their stockier build and short stature make it possible for them to track down an animal into its den.  Even though I felt overwhelmed with figuring out what to do with Jack, I’m sure Jack felt the same way.  He totally needed and continue to need a job to do.

My husband and I worked with Jack on strengthening his nose work abilities.  Dog’s sense of smell is one of their primary ways of how they recognize people, things and other animals, it also the main mode of how they detect changes in weather, body posture and physical changes like cancer and other diseases.  Their scent ability is how dogs are trained in such areas as search and rescue and drug recovery in police units. Check out this article on “dogs detecting traces of gasoline down to one billionth of a teaspoon”, pretty amazing how intelligent they are and this is only the tip of the iceberg.

A fun game I’ve incorporated with Jack is playing “Find It”.

What this boils down to is when Jack shows signs of his ears being forward, on his toes, his tail high and vibrating and he is watching (mostly at this point in time) another dog, I toss a treat over his head and I say “find it”. He immediately, turns around and starts sniffing the ground. Once he gets what he was looking for, the other dog is out of the picture. The dog being out of the picture and Jack removing his attention away and doing something else-sniffing the ground, moves Jack from reacting to the other dog and puts that building energy into something productive. On top of that, he is rewarded for playing and he learns this game happens when other dogs are present.

The best part, the teaching and learning is fun for both him and me.

How to teach “Find It” (This is a great game of not only teaching an incompatible behavior, but it also can be used to teach your dog impulse control

1. Start inside your home and simply toss treats in front of your dog. When your dog goes to get them, say “find it” and praise and reward when he does.

2. As your dog learns the rules, raise the challenge. Instead of tossing the treats in front of him, toss them over his head and say “Find It” praise and reward when he does.

3. Adding more complexity, toss them a bit away from him and say “Find It” when you do. Praise and reward when your dog does in fact, find it!

4. Now, bring in varying size boxes and practice the steps above!

5. Finally, bringing this game outside in your yard. Make sure to use bigger pieces of their favorite food and start Step 1. The reason for this is so your dog is remains motivated to find the special treat instead of getting interested in other scents. Progress as your dog is getting the hang of the game while being outside.

Lastly, encourage him to play the game when you have other dogs around (first at a great distance and then decrease the distance as your dog is able to be involved playing the game).

This game will make you and your dog change your minds and have fun while playing!

Keeping Your Heart Open

There is something to be said about running and getting the mind moving. Thoughts can get lodged in your mind without a clear direction or way forward. When your body moves, your mind does too. What gets transformed is your thoughts become a collective whole and brings clarity into your life.

Thoughts become goals and then you feel it in your whole body to take the next step. Either a small step forward or a giant leap into what you truly want for yourself.

Once you allow your heart to open up for new ideas and new possibilities, you can’t close that door. Your heart already knows even if your mind is stuck and trying hard to rationalize you out of moving forward.

Listen to your heart. Listen with the knowing you can make the changes you want in your life and live fully in what you’ve dreamed for yourself.

It won’t be easy all of the time. You’ll be faced with fears, shame or self doubt. Remember, this is not your heart speaking. This is your mind keeping you locked into the everyday, because it is safe.

Resist the urge of staying the same.

Resist staying locked into outdated ideas.

Keep your heart open and act bravely into a new sense of self.

You’ll truly uncover what is at the heart of you.

Social Work to Dog Training

I am a dog trainer with the heart of a social worker. You see, I have my formal education in Social Work. I possess both my BA and MA in the degree field and I’ve spent many years on a micro level (living and working in a boys group home) to the macro level (worked for a NGO at the United Nations) serving others. I’m a helper at the core of my being and now, I serve in a different way.

As a social worker, I’ve developed a deep understanding of how systems (from families to governments and institutions and everything in between) have an impact on the person and now, in my business, the dog too. When I sought out help from a professional who I believed knew better strategies of how to help him and me, what I found was counter cultural to my values. What I found, the methods used and how I was instructed to modify Jack’s behavior left me feeling uncomfortable and this inhibited my relationship with my Jack Bear. The systems of disapproving comments from friends, family and neighbors kept me feeling ashamed I wasn’t doing enough. The systems of professionals who find dominance theory still relevant kept me feeling uncomfortable and quite frankly sad because I was pushed to be thinking using force was the only way.

I felt lost in the dominance culture forced upon me. Instead of going down this road of forcing myself into a world that was in direct conflict with my value system, I became what I wanted. I became a dog trainer with a mission of teaching Jack in a force free and fear free way which does no harm to him, me or our relationship. As I learned how to help change behavior by using modern science (remember Pavlov and his dogs), and received guidance from those who came before me, I founded Four Paws & You Dog Training on positive reinforcement, force free and fear free principles.

The individual client and dogs are my focus. I take into consideration how the family, the neighbors, the local community, the culture and laws impacts the individual and family system. Therefore, in addressing my client’s concerns, attention during training sessions is on a holistic approach (remember all the systems in play), solution-based rather than problem focused and the use of reward based training methods.

Holistic Approach: The goal is understanding what is happening, if there are any medical issues or physical limitations in play (human or dog), what the family structure is like, what the goals of the family are, gaining an understanding what the dog is expressing when he is expressing it while teaching the family to understand the same with the goal of setting up the client and dog for success. You see, its not just teaching your dog to sit, I am taking into account all the pieces impacting you and your dog which is preventing your dog from following your direction when you ask for a sit!

Solution Based Rather than Problem Focused: I’m looking for solutions. This takes the pressure off. In a problem focused model, the professional’s attention is on diagnosis and cure. Well, if you ever experienced a dog with behavior concerns like barking and lunging at people and other dogs, or more severely, a dog who has a bite history, there is no type of cure for behavior. Behavior is fluid and is impacted by all the systems in play. Just like us, humans, behavior change takes time with consistent intention of making the change. If we don’t practice with intention, how can we expect our dogs to do the same. This is where solution based approaches are

Rewards-Based: Simply put, you’ll use whatever your dog decides is the best thing in his life. You’ll find this both motivating AND rewarding for your dog for all things you’re asking him to do. Learning takes time and consistency and with a ton of fun, you’ll find your bond unbreakable.