Some Dog Training Stuff

I wanted to write a little about dog training and some of the methods I've found work best for me.

When I was in elementary school, every morning before my dad dropped me off I would watch this show that I found called It’s Me or The Dog. This show introduced me to the training techniques that I now use with Hershey. The trainer in that show, Victoria Stillwell, uses positive reinforcement methods. I just love the fact that I can get my dog to not only do what I ask, but also enjoy doing what I ask of him.

I never have and never will use choke, prong, or electric collars on him because, in my opinion those don’t always work and if there’s a safer way to train my dog to do the things those devices claim to train then why wouldn't I choose the safer option? Positive training allows you to get to the root of the behavior problems. I could talk all day about how much I love positive reinforcement training but since I’m not professional trainer I’ll leave it there for now.

Some tools that I do use are a clicker and a no pull harness.

First the clicker; the clicker is used to mark the desirable action or behavior that you want to train your dog to do. There are a lot of studies out there that show a click is more effective than just saying good dog or good boy. Although there’s nothing wrong with saying those things, I’ve found the clicker to be faster when training Hershey. For example, I wanted to teach Hershey to play dead. In my version, I first tell Hershey to “put em’ up” then he puts his front paws in the air. Next I say “bang bang” and he falls to the ground.

A demonstration of this trick, sorry for the blurriness, I took it on my phone:

When I first started teaching him this trick I didn't think the clicker was all that important. However I ran into a problem. Since the trick really has two tricks combined into one, Hershey was putting both together in his head. Instead of waiting for my queue to fall down “dead” he would put his paws up in the air and fall down right away. Using the clicker I was able to separate each action or trick by marking them. He then learned that he had to wait until I said “bang bang” to fall down.  

As for the no pull harness, there are a ton of options to choose from when it comes to no pull harnesses. I use this one. I don’t use it all the time because Hershey usually knows not to pull but I do use it when running, when I don’t want to worry about him pulling, and when I’m trying to work with him on other behaviors. It just gives me a little more control. Right now, for example, I’m working with Hershey on his leash reactivity; he likes to lunge and bark at other dogs when we are passing because he gets super excited and wants to play. Using the harness gives me more control to catch the action before it happens and train him what I’d like him to do when passing other dogs. 

Also, if you’re looking for a good book about training your dog I’d really recommend this one and this one by Victoria Stillwell. This isn't sponsored; I just really love her books and methods. 

And lastly, a pic of Hershey doing one of my favorite tricks, high five;

Have a great day!