Don't reward pushy or rude behavior when training or anytime you're with your dog. Instead of granting the attention or favor your dog seeks - unless he's trying to alert you that "I have to relieve myself!" - say "Oops!" and ask for a "Sit."
"Wait" is a very useful cue, and here's how to teach it to your dog.
Say "Wait," reach for the door knob, but don't touch it. If he stays in a sit, click the clicker, or say "Yes!", and feed him a treat. Remember, prompt timing is key.
If he gets up, say "Oops!" and ask him to sit again. "Oops!" means "getting up doesn't earn treats." Now reach toward the door. If he keeps sitting, click and treat him for not getting up. Next steps:
* Reach for the door knob. If he stays in a sit, click and treat.
* Touch the door knob. If he stays in a sit, click and treat.
* Jiggle the door knob. If he stays in a sit, click and treat.
* Open the door a crack. If he stays in a sit, click and treat.
* Open the door wider. If he stays in a sit, click and treat.
After several repetitions at each step, he'll probably get it.
There's no need for aggressive, forceful behaviors on your part. Instead, keeping things calm maintains presence of mind for both of you. Wait for, and encourage, your dog to pay attention to you and to offer polite appeasement behaviors, and quickly reward those behaviors - so that he learns that good behavior makes good stuff happen. Don't miss opportunities to reward good behavior, and don't accidentally reward undesirable behavior
Some everyday applications:
* Wait at the door. He waits there until you give permission to move forward (instead of letting him push out ahead of you, which is self-rewarding pushy behavior.
* Wait for dinner. Your dog sits, and waits for your permission, before he eats. Cue him to "Sit" before you put his bowl down.
* Wait to get in the car. Sit and wait at the open door you OK him to enter.
* Wait to get out of the car. Which can be a life-saver.
* Wait before going for a walk. He sits and waits - instead of jumping - before you put on the leash.
* Wait as a way to ask to be petted.
Waiting is a way to "say please" and, in the spirit of No Free Lunch training programs, to earn the good stuff in life. The dog learns that good behavior earns desirable things such as going on walks, and valuable goods like toys and food. Inappropriate behavior, he learns, makes good stuff go away and get delayed.
It's better to get your dog to voluntarily buy into your desired behaviors than to try to force him to obey. After all we're supposedly the more intelligent species.
At Urban Out Sitters we continue to raise the bar above all our competitors to offer the best care for your dog. Each facility is clean, safe and certified by the Department of Agriculture offering stricter sanitary requirements; enforcing better screening for each dog; and selling a higher performance of daycare or kenneling. Our fully staffed facility is a smaller environment, specifically designed to maintain control, supervision and quality.
For more information about the services we provide visit our website at www.urbanoutsitters.com
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