Technique 2
Correct with a Leash. They may not be able to understand hard science, but most dogs understand simple physics enough to know that when a leash gets pulled one way, it’s better to go with it than to fight against. If your dog is generally cooperative on-leash, this method may be the easiest for her to learn. It works best with dogs who weigh twenty-five pounds or more. If you know you’re going to have visitors, attach a leash to your dog’s collar before anyone arrives. With the leash in hand, wait for her to jump up. When she does, say the word OFF, then pull the leash straight down or down and to the side. Timing is everything here. Correcting your dog right as she’s about to jump is best. Correcting her after she’s made it onto the person also works but not as well. So treat this like a game, and don’t let the dog win.
Technique matters. Be sure your pull isn’t too harsh but also not too light. To get it just right, choke up on the leash with your hand, then stiffen your arms in a downward motion. The idea is not to yank at your dog, but to stop her forward momentum and direct her away from her jump.
Say the word OFF, then pull the leash straight down or down and to the side to correct jumping on another person.
If you have a large dog and a simple pull isn’t getting results, take the end of the leash, hold it firmly against your hip, and take a step back. That way your body weight is doing the pulling, not your arms. This is a basic collar correction and with enough conditioning most dogs learn from it. The drawback to this technique is that most dogs will grasp it with the leash on, but they may revert to their old bad habits when the leash comes off.
If you’re not getting results with a large dog, hold the end of the leash firmly against your hip and step back.
Teaching OFF for Jumping on Furniture
As I mentioned, I don’t enforce a no-dogs-on-the-couch policy. My home is my dog’s home, too, so she can pretty much get comfortable wherever she wants. But when I have friends over and my seven-pound Chihuahua somehow manages to take up half the couch, then I expect her to get off on command. This is just the circumstance that makes the OFF useful on an everyday basis. It’s fine to let your pets on the furniture, but when they don’t want to budge so your grandma or your date can have a seat, there has to be a command for that. The process of teaching OFF in this context is so simple and effective that I’m only going to give you one technique to use. And that technique utilizes . . . drum roll, please . . . the penny bottle or Shake & Break! Please hold your applause until after you’ve used this quasimagical training tool to teach your dog to obey the OFF.
With your noisy training tool in hand (again, preferably behind your back), approach your dog while she is in the spot you want her out of—the couch, the bed, or if she’s got bigger issues like Jemma did, the coffee table. Say OFF, give the bottle a one- to two-second shake, then say the command one more time. Very few dogs remain in place after this. They just don’t like those jarring sounds. For the ones who stand their ground, repeat the process until they move at your request. Even the most stubborn dogs eventually move because the sound of rattling metal is not exactly soothing. After a few times through this routine, your dog will learn to respond to the OFF command without a noisy reminder. It’s that simple—so simple I’ve actually given this advice via e-mail to dog owners all over the world. More often than not, I get an e-mail back within a matter of days raving about the results. A few enthusiastic owners have even joked about how the technique worked so well on the dog, they’re going to try it on a spouse next! I do not recommend that.
OFF the Furniture and on to a New Home
Once Jemma learned the OFF command—as it applies to jumping on people and on furniture—she was ready to go to her new home at a California bed-and-breakfast. Jemma’s manners were great before she left me, but she was going on to study advanced B&B etiquette with the elderly mascot dog already in residence in her new home. I’m sure she has a long, thriving career ahead of her in the business of making guests feel welcome and at home.
Outtake
About ten years ago, I had a client with a yellow Lab named Jack. Jack had a terrible jumping habit. We worked on the problem for days at the client’s house, and he mastered the art of staying OFF there, but his owner said she was still having trouble with him out in public. In order to work on the issue at the “scene of the crime,” I met them at a local dog park. Sure enough, within minutes Jack had walked up to a stranger and jumped on him.
I told my client to say OFF, but Jack just kept romping around, jumping wherever he wanted. That’s when I was finally able to pinpoint the problem: Out in public, surrounded by people and dogs, Jack was getting a lot of sensory input. He was hearing all kinds of voices, and even a lot of commands because a dog park is full of people telling their dogs what to do and what not to do. Jack’s owner’s voice was getting lost in the activity and noise of the place. I told my client to raise her voice, first saying her dog’s name, and then following it up with the command. So in a loud, assertive voice, she followed my instructions, saying OFF over and over as she followed Jack around the park. As the scene unfolded, I realized that this dog’s name and the OFF command wasn’t the most family-friendly combination, but the owner carried on in the name of finally gaining some control over this bad habit. The good news is Jack did listen, and he’s been a pro at obeying the OFF command ever since.
9
COME
The COME command is not only a cornerstone of obedience training; it can also be a lifesaver. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen people hiking in the hills around Los Angeles, yelling at the top of their lungs for their dogs to come back. Meanwhile those “lost” dogs are just trotting along . . . in the opposite direction, oblivious to the fact they’re being called back and to any dangers that might lie ahead. That scenario is a recipe for disaster. Whether the threats in your community are traffic, snakes, coyotes, other dogs, or something else entirely, your dog needs the skill professional dog trainers refer to as recall—what most of us know as the COME command.
This command can be one of the most challenging to teach, especially if you’re working with a puppy. After all, puppies are basically as loyal as their options. A young dog’s mind works like a perfectly timed clock: every ten seconds it resets and is on to the next best thing. This makes it tough to teach a command that requires more than a little bit of focus from a young dog. Despite its challenges, though, I have a method for teaching the COME command that works on dogs of all ages and sizes. I’ve used it to train dogs of all different breeds, too, including a golden corgi I found in a local shelter who had to demonstrate near-perfect recall before I could let her go to her new home.
Courtesy of Litton Syndications, Inc.
Meet Leah. Leah was a one-year-old golden retriever–corgi mix, a beautiful dog. She’d ended up in a shelter after being found on the street, and despite being a mix of two popular breeds, that was where she stayed. No one came to pick her up, she didn’t have a microchip to help the shelter track down an owner, and no one chose her for adoption. After a while, the shelter manager called me.
In Leah’s kennel, the first thing I noticed was her calm, friendly demeanor; she curled right up to me when I sat down. I knew then she was going to make a great pet for some lucky family. The second thing I noticed was that Leah was covered in fleas and ticks, and her skin was red and raw. I wondered, for about the millionth time in my life so far, who could neglect a dog like this, and then I filled out the paperwork to take Leah home.
Back at the ranch, Leah’s tail wagged constantly, and she seemed determined to show she was a devoted, good dog at any cost. In her assessment, she did well with SIT and DOWN, and she picked up COME pretty quickly. But the home I’d found for her was with a family who wanted to be able to take their dog hiking—off-leash. This mom and dad already had two young boys to keep track of, and the last thing they needed was a dog who couldn’t be counted on to stick with them when she was called.
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p; Not every dog is meant to be an off-leash dog. Every now and then I have to make a decision about whether one of my rescues is fit to take on this role. It’s an important decision because I invest a lot of myself in these dogs, and I never want to make any of them vulnerable to getting lost or injured by giving the okay for off-leash activities if they can’t handle that much freedom. Just because a dog has a recall doesn’t mean she’ll be reliable in every situation. Leah was on the cusp. She was great at responding to the COME command in the training barn, but in the yard outside she had a bit of a wandering eye. That raised a red flag for me about whether she’d be reliable on a hike with no fences and unlimited distractions.
I wanted to believe the forever home I’d chosen for Leah would work out, but before I could entrust her to the loving family she had waiting, she’d have to prove to me she could obey the COME command at any time, in any place, and despite any distraction . . . and the world is chock-full of distractions for a dog.
Teaching the COME
The technique I’m sharing here is one I devised and have used on hundreds of dogs over the years. We’re going to start small—in the same room with your dog—and work up to teaching the COME command at greater distances. The tools you’ll need:
•A twenty-five-foot leash
•A harness
•A clicker
•A variety of treats your dog really likes
You can find a quick refresher on using the clicker in Chapter 3, if needed. If your dog is out of practice with this training tool, you can get her reacquainted with the habit of responding to it in a few short sessions. This is the easiest lesson you’ll ever teach. Simply take a handful of treats and give them to your dog one at a time, clicking before giving each one so she learns to associate the click sound with good rewards.
In most cases, the 7 Common Commands can be taught in any order, although it makes sense to start at the beginning with the SIT for most dogs and work your way through the commands in the order I’ve given them here. However, teaching the COME command is most effectively done if your dog already has a good understanding of STAY. For that reason, if you haven’t taught the STAY yet, I recommend going back to Chapter 6 and helping your dog learn that skill before this one. Taking that preliminary step will help both you and your dog master this command more quickly and easily. Now that you’re geared up, let’s break this down.
Step 1. With treats in your training bag or pocket and the long leash hanging loose from your dog’s harness, start in a single room where your dog has a little space to roam but not so much that she can get more than a few feet away from you or out of sight. This should be a distraction-free zone, with no other dogs or people, no toys, and no other activity going on. You want to set your dog up for success so her first association with the command is an easy one to make. When your dog is a few feet away, say the command COME in a cheerful voice (you can even clap your hands), and watch what she does. If she turns and looks at you, click the clicker. If she walks toward you, click again. If she comes all the way to you, click, praise, and give her a reward, telling her “Good COME!”
In one room with treats at the ready, this should go pretty easily. If your dog does not turn toward you or come to you, though, you’ll need to help her figure out what you want. If this happens, pick up the leash and give it one quick tug toward you, then drop it. Your tug should not be a hard jerk—its purpose is solely to change your dog’s direction. The power of your tug should be relative to your dog’s size; small dogs need very little tugging, but a larger breed may need a bit more. The tug will turn your dog in your direction, and as soon as that happens, click the clicker, give the COME command again, and then reward her when she gets to you. Repeat this step several times until you can see your dog make an association between the command and coming to you.
Owners of dogs who are highly motivated by rewards won’t need long to figure out why the STAY command is a good one to have in their arsenal once they start teaching a dog to COME. When your dog knows you have treats or toys and that the way to get them is to come to you, you’re going to find yourself with a very close companion. Many dogs choose this moment to become glued to their handlers’ sides. Unfortunately, that sudden closeness can cut way down on your training efficiency. The fact is if you’ve got a fifteen-minute session planned and your dog spends twelve of those minutes trying to stay close to you to earn rewards, then you’re not going to accomplish a whole lot of repetitions of the technique.
To streamline your sessions with a dog who’s hovering at your side, put her in a STAY at the distances discussed in each step here, then give the COME command when you reach your desired distance away. That way your dog will get the full fifteen minutes’ worth of work in each session—and you’ll spend a lot less time teaching this command.
Step 2. Now that your dog has mastered the COME command when you’re close-by, it’s time to teach her to keep up the good work when you’re a little farther away. For this step, leave that long leash attached to your dog’s collar just in case you need to pull it or step on it. Keep the clicker in your hand and treats at the ready, but move to an area where your dog has the freedom to roam into the next room and out of your sight. A spot where she’ll be around a corner from you is ideal, so you can peek at her but not be front and center. Once again, give the COME command in an upbeat voice. If she turns toward you, click. When she gets to you, click and give her a good reward.
If your dog doesn’t come when you give the command, give her leash a tug again to get her going in the right direction and click as soon as she’s turned your way. Repeat this step until your dog’s response to COME is reliable from a room away.
Step 3. The next step in this exercise is where the length of that leash comes into play. You’re going to repeat the same process as you did in Steps 1 and 2, but I want you to let your dog roam farther. Test her response to the COME command from different areas of the house—a room away, two rooms away, etc. Be sure you move from place to place, too, so your dog learns that the command means to come to you wherever you are—not just in the one place you’re training. If she struggles with any distance or location, work from there using a tug on the leash to remind her to move toward you.
Step 4. Once your dog masters the COME command inside, it’s time to take your training to the great outdoors. This is a critical part of training this command because if you ever really need your dog to answer to COME for her safety, it’ll likely be somewhere outside your home. Training outside is not the same as inside because even though you’ve controlled for distractions up until now, there will be things you can’t control outdoors. That whole environment feels different to your dog.
It’s okay to clap your hands for emphasis when training the COME command.
As soon as your dog turns and looks at you, click the clicker.
If she gets all the way to you, click, praise, and give her a reward.
Always train the COME command in an enclosed space—a fenced yard is a perfect spot. Once you’re there, lay your dog’s twenty-five-foot leash down and let her go. Chances are, she’ll start wandering, looking for something to see or smell or do. When she gets about ten feet away, say her name, then say COME in a loud, cheerful voice (again, you can clap your hands for emphasis). As soon as your dog turns and looks at you, click the clicker. If she steps toward you, click again. And, finally, if she gets all the way to you, click, praise, and give her the reward.
Of course, it’s not always that easy. Even if your dog has done well with the command indoors, she may be distracted by nature’s temptations and not immediately head your way. If she doesn’t, give the leash a tug to turn her momentum toward you. The second she starts changing direction, drop the leash and click. When she gets to you, click again, praise her, and give a reward. The clicker lets your dog know what she’s doing right each step of the way, even as you start training at longer distances.
You’re going to repeat this process over and over, l
etting your dog get another foot or two farther away each time. Eventually, when she has demonstrated that she understands the COME command and responds every time, you’re going to let her wander past the entire length of the leash. This process needs lots of practice—plan to repeat it a couple times every day for a week.
Step 5. When your dog has the COME command down pat, you’ll need to make sure it’s set in stone before you can trust it in any open areas. To do this, I want you to add in some distractions. If you have another dog, let him join you. Have someone ring the doorbell. Enlist a friend to be in the yard so there’s some competition for your dog’s attention. Through it all, keep practicing the command.
If your dog passes all these steps and you want to see if she’s capable of being reliable off-leash, you can move to a safe open space and start again on Step 4, keeping the long leash within reach as you train. Please know that not every dog is capable of being an off-leash pet. We’ll discuss this in more detail in the “Training Tips to Remember” section below. The most important thing to recognize here is that if your gut tells you your dog is likely to bolt at the first big distraction, trust that instinct and stick to using a leash when you’re in the field, woods, or park. Better safe than sorry.
Step 6. As your dog grasps the command better over a few days, start giving her fewer treats and more praise. This tapering down on how often you give rewards will keep her from becoming totally dependent on food to work. You don’t want to train your dog to respond to commands only when you’ve got a handful of treats. So as your dog masters the command, you’re going to switch from a one-action-one-reward system to a lottery system, where your dog gets rewarded sometimes, but not every time, for obeying. This way your dog will eagerly follow your commands, always wondering if this is the time she will earn a food reward.
Lucky Dog Lessons Page 12
