When Pigs Fly_ Training Success With Impossible Dogs - Jane Killion [44]
Pig Tale
One of my friends, Kathy, had a rescue Greyhound named Slicky. Because racing Greyhounds receive little or no meaningful human interaction when young, they often do not know how to enjoy being petted. Kathy would put her hand on Slicky’s head, and click/treat. Poor Slicky may have been under socialized, but he was not dumb, and he quickly grew to love being patted. He so enjoyed being patted that he developed his own naked game where he would flip up Kathy’s hand with his nose and earn some patting in return.
Like tug games, naked games require an “off ” switch. Use the same “that’ll do” phrase to signal that that the play session is over and it is time to calm down. At first your dog may jump up a few times and try to keep things going, but it is crucial that you don’t give in, and don’t react. Your dog will learn to understand the end-of-play-session cue very quickly, if you are consistent.
I do not advise overly rough play with any dog. Naked games are ritualized sequences that you can do with your dog to build excitement, but they are not roughhousing. You must also be careful to teach your dog how to play within bounds. Rough jumping on you, nipping, or biting are not part of naked games. If he crosses the line and becomes too rough, jumps on your and/or begins nipping, you must instantly cut off the game. No scolding is necessary or advisable— any interaction, even one that you mean to be punishing, will just be viewed as part of the game. If play escalates this way, take it as a lesson and make sure that you ramp down your next play session before it gets to that point!
I believe that mouthing is acceptable, so long as it is super-gentle mouthing. Some dogs are way too rough when they play with their mouths, but other dogs are very sweet with their mouths and seem to understand very well the fragility of human skin. If you can teach a dog to use his mouth gently in play, he has learned a lot more about who you are and how to interact with you than if you teach him not to use his mouth, ever. After all, a dog’s mouth is how he connects with others. Dogs do not have opposable thumbs and they can’t hold hands!
Some type/breeds of dogs are more likely to want to relate to you through their mouths than others. Northern breeds are often skillful in this way—the Alaskan Malamutes I have known all liked to use their mouth as part of their greeting/play rituals and they were always very gentle. Generally, I have found Terriers to be dismal at judging the limitations of human skin and I don’t encourage them to play with their mouths. All the usual caveats apply here—if your dog is not mentally stable, or if you don’t know the dog well, steer clear of playing games that involve mouths on skin.
Piggy Pointer
Just like tug games, naked games present no threat of aggression from a well-adjusted dog, and they are excellent relationship building activities. However, if your dog is fearful, reactive, or aggressive, consult a professional trainer before trying any kind of very stimulating play, especially play that involves teeth.
The beauty of naked games is that, in every single one of them, you are the main reinforcer. Your dog is looking forward to the possibility of playing with you. You don’t need to be holding food, toys or props—you have actually become reinforcing for your dog. Simply being near you becomes very exciting for your dog and, once you have that, the rest is easy.
8
Training With SAFETY
How to Teach Your Dog Any Behavior
In the next chapter, you are going to learn how to teach some basic behaviors that every dog—especially Pigs Fly dogs—should learn in order to get along in society. Before we do that, I want you to get acquainted with the steps that you will take to teach them. Every behavior will be taught the same way, using the Pigs Fly system. You will shape and strengthen the behaviors you want using your new knowledge of how to use reinforcers. We are going