When Pigs Fly_ Training Success With Impossible Dogs - Jane Killion [65]
You can step into your dog a little in order to help him back up. If he sits, do not click and try to be faster with your click next time. Otherwise you are teaching him to “Sit” rather than to “Back up.”
Go to Your Crate/Go to Your Mat
Your dog needs a crate. It should be his cozy little den where he can go chill out when he needs some down time. It is his room and he should enjoy going into it when the situation demands. Just like people, dogs do not want to be locked up in their rooms for extended periods of time, but there is nothing better than having your own room to go to when you feel like it or it is time to sleep or be alone. A crate will keep your dog out of trouble when you need some down time. Life is just hard when you can’t put your dog away sometimes.
Your dog should willingly go to his crate any time you ask him to.
Piggy Pointer
If, for some reason, a crate is out of the question, buy an exercise pen and make that your dog’s special spot.
I want my dogs to love going into their crates, not just tolerate it. When someone who does not care for dogs is at the door and I have five dogs loose and I want to get them all put away quickly, it is nice to have dogs that will run to their crates without hesitation. It would be troublesome to drag each dog into his crate, so I make sure that they will fly into them eagerly. You are going to shape going into the crate much the same way that you played the cardboard box game:
1. Walk your dog over to an open crate and just stand there. Click for any glance at the crate and then feed the dog inside the crate.
2. Now hold out for a foot step towards the crate.
3. Next hold out for one foot in the crate.
4. Gradually shape your dog to go into the crate on his own. It will not take long until your dog is running ahead of you into his crate on cue.
You can teach your dog to go lie down on a mat or dog bed the same way. Shape your dog to go to the mat/bed, and then shape him to lie down on it. I keep a dog bed next to my desk and periodically reinforce my dogs for lying down quietly on it while I am working.
Shaping your dog step by step to go his crate.
You Both Should be Having Fun
How to Take Your Dog for a Walk
Now that you have all these foundation behaviors in place on your dog, you are ready to hit the trail and have some fun with your buddy. Nothing is a better bonding and training experience than a walk with your well-trained dog. Exercise can be very relaxing and healthy. If you have trained your foundation behaviors well, the pleasant associations you and your dog make while out for a walk will contribute greatly towards building a strong relationship between you. In this section, you will learn how to take a walk with your dog and make it an enjoyable experience for both of you.
Do you really need someone to tell you how to take your dog for a walk? Put a leash on and go out the door, right? As long as you can figure out how to make him stop pulling on the leash, everything’s okey-dokey, isn’t that so? You owners of Pigs Fly kinda dogs know it is not so simple. You will only get that nice enjoyable walk if you have mastered most of the foundation behaviors in this chapter. Have you succeeded in training the foundation behaviors? Great! Let’s see how you can use them on a walk.
Taking a walk is more than just dragging a dog along or keeping him from dragging you along. Think of it as a cross-training workout where you get to test and try all of the behaviors you have trained in different contexts. By using and reinforcing all of your foundation behaviors everytime you take a walk, you make the walk more interactive and fun for you and your dog. Your