Chapter 11: Beyond the Basics

Once you and your dog have mastered the basic cues, you can continue to polish them, start weaning off of treats and the clicker, and tackle some advanced behaviors. The wonderful part about training your dog is that it’s a lifelong process. There’s always something new you that you can teach your dog. The more you work together, the closer you two will become.

Adding Distractions

Your dog is likely to sit in the comfort and quiet of your living room, but will he sit in the middle of a busy park? Will he hold the Sit even if you drop a dozen tennis balls around him? To get that steady level of behavior, you need to introduce distractions into your training. Adding distractions is sometimes called “proofing” the behavior.

There are many distractions that you can use. Some will depend on what you want to do with your dog. For example, do you want to enter formal competitions with your dog? If so, then you’ll want to add the types of distractions that your dog will experience during a competition trial. This can include the following:

•Lots of people

•Other dogs

•Being crated in a busy environment

•Loud noises

•Ring gating

•Mats

•A person walking near or behind him holding a clipboard

•Booths or tents

•Other dogs getting treats and attention

If you want to enter competition with your dog, then you should accustom him to the type of distractions you are likely to encounter there.

Perhaps you would love for your dog to be a therapy dog—a dog that visits patients in health-care facilities. He will need to perform with these types of distractions:

•People who move differently than usual, such as bent over or with jerky movements

•People who talk loudly or slur their words

•Crutches, wheelchairs, walkers

•Elevators

•Slick floors

•Floor-length curtains (in hospitals)

•Beeping noises (from monitoring machines)

Think about your ultimate training goals for your dog. Choose distractions to add into your training program whether you want him to perform his behaviors reliably in a show environment, in new places with new people, or at the local park.

Start slow and work gradually. Following is an example of adding distractions to the Down behavior. You can apply this basic concept to just about any behavior.

Goal: Your dog will hold the Down position, despite distractions.

What You’ll Need: Clicker, treats, regular leash, long leash (12 to 15 feet [2m]), low-value toys, high-value toys, dog bowl.

Preparation: Teach Down first.

1.With your dog on the regular leash, warm up with a few Down repetitions.

2.Exchange the regular leash for the long one. Perform a few Down repetitions, gradually moving farther from your dog.

3.Cue “Down.” Place one low-value toy in the training area. Position it at a distance where you think your dog will ignore it. If he remains in position, click and toss a treat away from the toy.

4.With the toy still in the floor, repeat Step 3 two times, each time working closer to the toy.

5.Add a second low-value toy to the training area.

6.Repeat Steps 3–4.

7.Add one high-value toy to the training area.

8.Repeat Steps 3–4, each time working closer to the toys.

9.Add another high-value toy to the training area.

10.Repeat Steps 3–4, gradually working closer to the toys. End your training session.

In future training sessions, start adding treats along the ground, then eventually an empty dog-food bowl, and then a food bowl with some treats in it. Only progress as far as your dog can succeed.

Tips: The act of switching to a long leash is a distraction unto itself for your dog. He now has a greater distance at which to get distracted. Once he gets used to the additional distance, start adding the toys as distractions that he has to ignore along the way. Then, you will add food.

Each dog gets to decide what is tempting to him, so learn from your dog which items will be more challenging than others. Add those later in the training program. For the repetitions in which he leaves a very tempting item, be sure to give him a high-value reward.

If you want your dog to perform in different areas, you need to train in different areas. Every time you train in a new area, back up your criteria. Go back to your earlier training steps and work up from there. New areas can be very distracting for dogs, with different scents that they want to explore and different noises that may interest them or make them nervous.

For the Come behavior, you can continue proofing your dog in a variety of environments and with added distractions until you achieve the level you want for your dog. Please remember to always leash your dog when you are working in an unfenced area. You don’t want a distraction to end in injury if your dog decides to bolt after something and into traffic or another dangerous area.

A therapy dog needs to be comfortable around wheelchairs and medical equipment.

Working Off Leash

If you would like the reliability of your dog performing off leash, there are several ways to achieve it.

You can apply the following general steps to your basic behaviors, such as Watch Me, Walking Nicely on Leash, Sit-Stay, and Down-Stay.

•Start by practicing the behaviors off leash. Only do this in a securely enclosed area.

•For behaviors to which you want to add distance, such as Down, add a long leash after you’ve taught the behavior on a regular leash; you can also use a retractable leash for distance work. You can also tether your dog in one location on a long leash while you move farther away. After working successfully on the longer leash, you can transition to off leash.

•For behaviors that you want close to you, such as Walking Nicely on Leash, you can transition to a tab leash. This is a short leash with just a small handle for you to grab just in case. Choose one that extends only partway down your dog’s chest; you don’t want it so long that your dog’s foot can get tangled in it. After working successfully on the shorter leash, you can transition to off leash.

Always be mindful of your area’s local laws regarding leashed dogs. If your community has a leash law, be a good pet-owning citizen and keep your dog leashed. Also know that your dog … is a dog. You may train him to be excellent and reliable in most situations, but one day a distraction may come along that you couldn’t have predicted or that your dog just finds way too tempting to ignore. Before you disconnect your dog from his leash, always assess the situation and weigh the consequences. It would be terrible if you risked his life!

Practice behaviors off leash in a secure setting.

When to Stop Clicking

You will not have to click forever. A clicker is a building tool. Once you’ve built a behavior and trained it to fluency, you no longer need the click. Fluency means that you have taught a behavior, added distractions, and trained it in different locations. When you cue your dog no matter what is going on, he’s likely to respond correctly.

If you find that the behavior breaks down or that you need to build the behavior in a new environment, pull out your clicker again and rebuild the behavior. For example, at home, your dog always sits when you cue him. You replace the click with a release cue, “OK!,” and you no longer use the clicker at home. You take your dog on a vacation to a relative’s house. There are lots of adults, children, and other dogs there. You cue your dog to sit, but he doesn’t respond. This is because his current environment is very different from the one at home—there are too many distractions for him to concentrate.

Pull out your clicker and back up your training. He will learn to sit in this environment faster than he did initially, but he will still need a refresher course. Once he is reliably sitting in this new environment, you can go back to using your release cue (“OK!”) instead of clicking. You’ve successfully used the clicker to rebuild the behavior.

Another example would be time delays. If you don’t work your dog for months and then start training again, he may not necessarily pick up where you left off. You may need to review some steps. If you’ve already stopped using the clicker for certain behaviors, and a lot of time has gone by between training sessions, you may need to use the clicker again to rebuild those behaviors.

If you need to build a behavior in a new environment, go back to using the clicker.

Replacing the Click with a Release Cue

The click ends the behavior. So if you don’t need to use a clicker forever, how do you teach your dog when it’s OK to end the behavior? For example, when you cue your dog to sit, how does he know when he can get up? You need to teach a release cue—a cue that indicates that the behavior has ended.

If you don’t teach a release cue, you will end up with a dog that may need repeated cues to perform a behavior. Your dog may sit and then get up, so you cue him to sit again, but then he gets up … and on and on. Teaching him a release cue is better communication. Here’s how to replace the clicker with a release cue.

Goal: Your dog will release from position when cued, ending a behavior.

What You’ll Need: Clicker, treats.

Preparation: Teach the behavior to fluency first.

•Choose a release cue that will only mean “the behavior is over,” such as “OK!” or “Free!” Be consistent.

•Just before you click, give the cue “OK!” and then click and treat.

•After about ten times, you no longer need to use the clicker. Use just the release word instead.

When to Stop Treats

One of the most common training questions from dog owners concerns when to stop giving treats to their dogs. Stopping the treats too soon can cause your dog to lose interest in your training and can teach him that working for you isn’t very rewarding. If people work for a living, they get a paycheck. Your dog deserves one, too!

This doesn’t mean, however, that you will have to carry treats with you for the rest of your life. You can wean your dog off of the treats. Here’s how.

Goal: You will no longer use treats to reward your dog for performing a behavior.

What You’ll Need: Clicker, treats.

Preparation: Train the behavior to fluency first. Transition the clicker to a release cue.

1.Start rewarding your dog with a treat for every other repetition of a behavior. For the repetitions on which you don’t give a treat, praise your dog instead.

2.Reward your dog for the third repetition of a behavior, then after just one repetition. For every repetition you do not give a treat, praise your dog instead.

3.Continue to vary the number of repetitions in between rewards, sometimes increasing the number and sometimes decreasing the number, to keep your dog interested.

4.After ten repetitions, end your training session.

5.Repeat the training sessions at various times, repeating Step 3 until you no longer are using treats as a reward.

Tip: If at any time your dog loses interest or you notice the behavior breaking down, reduce the number of repetitions in between treats. You can also try keeping your training sessions shorter.

You can wean your dog off of the training treats.

Building a Rock-Solid Recall

Come is such an important behavior, so you will want to polish it and make it as rock solid as possible. If your dog is truly distracted, it can be very hard for him to leave the distraction and come to you; this is especially true if he is doing what he was originally bred to do, such as hunting or chasing something. No matter how positive a trainer you’ve been and what kind of wonderful relationship you have with your dog, chasing a squirrel may trump you as a reward!

You can achieve a reliable recall, however. It just takes work. The foundation you’ve built so far is a great start. Here is how to take Come to the next level.

Goal: Your dog will come when called, despite distractions.

What You’ll Need: Clicker, treats, regular leash, long leash (12 to 15 feet [2 m]), low-value toys, high-value toys, dog bowl.

Preparation: Teach Come first.

1.With your dog on the regular leash, warm up with a few Come repetitions.

2.Exchange the regular leash for the long one. Perform a few Come repetitions.

3.Place one low-value toy in the training area. Position the toy at a distance at which you think that your dog will ignore the toy.

4.Cue “Come!” If your dog goes near the toy, encourage him to come to you instead.(You can also use your Leave It cue.) When he reaches you and sits, click and treat.

5.Repeat two times, each time working closer to the toy.

6.Add a second low-value toy to the training area.

7.Repeat Steps 4–5.

8.Add one high-value toy to the training area.

9.Repeat Steps 4–5, each time working closer to the toys.

10.Add another high-value toy to the training area.

11.Repeat Steps 4–5, gradually working closer to the toys. End your training session.

At future training sessions, start adding treats along the ground, then eventually an empty dog-food bowl, and then a food bowl with some treats in it. Only progress as far as your dog can succeed.

Tips: If at any time your dog chooses to go to the distraction instead of to you, don’t punish him. Just back up your training to the point at which he was last successful. Do some more repetitions at that level and then try making it harder again. The more challenging the distractions, the higher value of reward you should use.

When Distractions Are Too Tempting

If your dog gets very distracted by one of the items and goes to it instead of you, don’t punish him. Instead, back up your training to the point at which you were successful. Do several more repetitions at that level and then try advancing again. Punishing or correcting your dog won’t be helpful. Just back up your training and build better habits before pushing onward.

The Joy of Heeling

You may have achieved your goal of on-leash behavior by teaching your dog the Walk Nicely on Leash cue. If you are interested in fancier footwork, however, you’ll want to teach Heel. This will be a necessary skill for your dog if you ever want to compete in obedience or Rally competitions. It’s also an integral part of canine freestyle—dancing with your dog.

The Heel behavior means that your dog stays in position on your left side, very close to your leg, with his shoulders even with your leg, his head up, and his eyes looking at you. Every time you stop, he automatically sits straight, facing forward. Watching a heeling team, with a dog glued to his handler’s side, matching her steps and happily gazing into her eyes, is a beautiful example of teamwork. It can be challenging to teach, though. There are entire seminars devoted to just this exercise.

Try This! Record Yourself

Your body position is very important when teaching Heel. This is where recording your training sessions can really come in handy. It’s hard to be aware of what you’re doing and what your dog is doing at the same time, so a video can show you things you need to improve, as well as things that are going right.

Heeling Basics

Heeling is an exercise in which you have to be just as conscious of your body position as you are of your dog’s. In most other behaviors, you’re only concerned about what your dog is doing. If you ask him to sit, you want his rear on the ground. If you want to be precise about it, you’ll want his legs tucked evenly under his body rather than sprawling out to one side. But you can be doing whatever you want—standing, sitting, or lying down. In Heel, your body position makes a difference because it offers cues to your dog as regarding in what direction you are going.

When teaching Heel, you will need to be more conscious about your own body position. For example, when you compete, you will be walking straight forward with your shoulders straight, so when you train, you want to assume this same position. If you are turned to your left, looking down at your dog to see if he’s in the right place, this is a different position and will teach your dog to be farther back, as he will back up to look at you. When you then face forward with shoulders straight, your dog will look like he is lagging a bit behind your leg, because you inadvertently trained him to be in that position by turning and moving your left side farther back.

Another very important thing to keep in mind when teaching Heel is your dog’s physical health. In Heel position, your dog is looking up and to the right, at your face. You don’t want to do extended repetitions of this behavior and cause your dog to have neck or joint problems. If you kept your head turned to one side for long periods of time, you’d get a crick in your neck.

Luckily, with clicker training, training sessions are very short. Just remember not to get caught up in your goal of a beautiful Heel and do too many repetitions at one time. Here is
how to teach a basic Heel.

Goal: Your dog will walk in Heel position by your left leg, keep pace with you, and keep
eye contact.

What You’ll Need: Clicker, treats. You’ll also need room to move, preferably a large, closed room or even a fenced yard.

Preparation: Teach Watch Me and Sit first. You can do the Heel exercise on leash or off leash. If you move on to advanced competition, you will eventually have your dog off leash, so it can be convenient to go ahead and train that from the start.

If you choose to train the Heel off leash, you will still need to hold your hand as if you have a leash in it so that your body language will be consistent. You will also need to eventually add the leash because you will need to learn how to hold it so that it doesn’t tighten or tangle in your dog’s legs. For competition purposes, the leash should be loose. At first, stick with either on leash or off- leash until your dog is reliably holding position, at which point you can gradually incorporate the other.

1.Warm up with a few repetitions of the Watch Me behavior. This will get your dog primed to look up at you.

2.Cue “Sit” at your left side. Have your left elbow bent, with your left hand at your belt buckle. Face forward—you will have to peek downward to your left to ensure that your dog is in the right position. Cue “Watch Me.” Start walking.

3.After just two steps, if your dog is in Heel position, with his shoulder right by your leg, click, stop, and give him a treat. If it takes a few more steps, that is OK; it may take a little longer if your dog is off leash. Just walk briskly, with a purpose, which is more likely to get your dog’s attention. Most dogs, especially if you’ve already established a history of fun training sessions, will be trying to earn a click and treat. If you find that your dog is more interested in the yard than in your training, you need to get better treats and make it more interesting for him.

4.After you deliver the treat, start walking again. Click and treat every time your dog gets into Heel position. You will see that your dog finds the Heel position more and more frequently. After about ten clicks, end your training session.

5.Repeat Steps 2–4 until your dog is maintaining Heel position consistently. Only do ten clicks and treats per session. With this exercise especially, it’s important to keep it short so your dog does not get bored.

Tips: For your initial training sessions, it’s easier if you just walk in a straight line. You don’t have to do that for long, though. Don’t try extremely evasive maneuvers, but you can start turning right and left. You can walk in a square pattern or weave in between cones, to better keep your dog’s attention. The more often you change directions, the more likely your dog is to pay attention to you because this keeps things interesting for him.

Also, you may find that your dog gets in Heel position but doesn’t look up at your face. It is harder for a dog to look at you while walking. He wants to see where he is going, or he’s interested in the ground smells. If this is the case with your dog, simply click and treat for Heel position at first. You will often find that your dog starts looking up at you as he becomes more interested in the exercise. When that happens, you will start clicking and treating him only when he is watching you in Heel position. You can also continue to practice the Watch Me behavior so that it becomes more ingrained in his routine.

The Heel means that your dog stays in position on your left side.

The Straight Sit

One part of Heel is a Straight Sit. When a dog is sitting by your side, he can have a tendency to swing his rear out away from you. It makes sense because this makes it easier for him to see your face. But, in competition, you want your dog to sit straight, facing forward. This polished Sit behavior is taught separately from the walking part of Heel.

Goal: Your dog will sit straight by your side, facing forward.

What You’ll Need: Clicker, treats. You’ll also need a long wall to work near.

1.With the wall parallel on your left side, stand with just enough room so that your dog fits, sitting, in between you and the wall. Lure your dog to your left side if you need to. Cue “Sit.” When he sits right next to your leg and is sitting straight, click and treat.

2.Repeat Step 1 five times.

3.Take a half step away from the wall. Repeat Step 1. If your dog still sits straight, without swinging out toward the wall, click and treat. If he starts to lose his Straight Sit, then move back closer to the wall. Do nine more repetitions and then end your training session.

4.Gradually work to where you can move farther away from the wall with your dog still holding a Straight Sit. If at any time your dog starts to swing out, just move closer to the wall, to the point where he last succeeded, do more repetitions in that location, and then try moving out again.

When your dog is reliably walking beside you in Heel position and looking up at you, and he can do a Straight Sit, it’s time to combine the behaviors and add the cue.

Goal: Your dog will walk in Heel position, looking at you, and automatically sit when you stop.

What You’ll Need: Clicker, treats.

1.Start with your dog sitting by your left side. Cue “Heel” once, in a friendly voice. Start walking.

2.After just a few steps, stop walking and cue “Sit.” When your dog sits, click and treat.

3.Repeat Steps 1–2 five times. End your training session.

4.At your next training session, repeat Steps 1–2, except do not cue “Sit.” Instead, wait to see if your dog automatically sits. If he does, click and treat. From this point on, you will click and treat for sitting automatically. If you wait for a minute and he still doesn’t sit, then cue “Sit.” Repeat Steps 1–2 for another couple of training sessions before trying for an automatic sit again.

Watch Me will get your dog primed to look at you.

Expert Tip: Platforms

There are many ways to teach the Heel with Straight Sit. Another method you may want to try is platform training. The goal is to teach your dog to sit on a short platform that is just big enough for him so that he learns to sit within the parameters of the platform. Then, you gradually fade out the platform while he still keeps the ideal position. You can purchase ready-made platforms, or you can easily construct your own. Purchase some interlocking foam squares, such as the type often used for children’s playroom flooring, from your local home-supply store. Interlock the squares if necessary and cut them until you have a piece that is just the length and width of your dog. Duct-tape several same-size pieces on top of each other so that your platform is a couple of inches (cm) high.

Put the platform by your left side and cue “Sit.” Click and treat when your dog sits on the platform. Practice in different rooms and environments and then try removing the platform to see if your dog holds the same position.

If you are interested in canine freestyle, make several platforms because your dog will have to learn to work on both sides of you, and even in front of and behind you. Platforms can help your dog learn exact positions.

Next Steps

Once your dog is keeping the Heel position for at least twenty steps in your current training area, you can take your training sessions to different locations. Keep in mind that for each new location you try, you may have to back up your training and work through the steps again. This is normal. If your goal is competition, be sure to practice in environments with mats and ring gating so that your dog gets used to performing in that environment.

Gradually work up to your dog’s holding Heel position for longer periods, but remember to keep these training sessions short, with few repetitions. If you want to train your dog to Heel on your left and right, you can teach a different cue for each side. Working on both sides of you will help prevent physical strain on your dog’s neck and joints.

If you have not started working off leash at this point, you can start now. Start in quiet areas at first, then work up to areas holding more distractions.

Perfecting Your Steps

Your dog watches your body cues to figure out which way you are going. You can help him, and make your Heel much more polished, by being consistent with your body cues when you make a turn. This will require some practice because you may not be aware of what your feet and shoulders are really doing whenever you’re walking along. Have you ever noticed your footprints in the sand on the beach? Do your feet align straight, or do the balls of your feet splay outward from your heels? If you expect your dog to maintain a perfect Heel position and your left foot leans even a fraction left before you turn right, then he could think you mean to turn left instead, which will cause him to lag behind on the turn. If you just want your dog to walk by your side in something more polished than Walking Nicely on Leash, this is no big deal. But in the competition ring, it will cost you points.

It’s actually best to practice these moves without your dog. Get your body used to consistent movement first, and then you can add your dog. Here are some of the movements that you will need for competition and how you can develop some body cues to help you and your dog walk together as a team. Keep in mind that you need to signal your dog before you actually change direction. To teach change of directions, it can be helpful to use a target stick to help your dog better learn exact positions. (A target stick is a long stick that you teach your dog to touch with his nose. Some are telescopic, which is very convenient. You can start with it very long, then gradually shorten it, then fade it out altogether.)

•Right Turn. When you turn right, and your dog is walking on your left, he has to speed up on the outside of the turn in order to maintain Heel position. Signal that you are going to turn by stepping with your right foot slightly swiveled out to the right, then picking your left foot up, and then turning right. You can also drop your right shoulder slightly back.

•Left Turn. When you turn left, and your dog is walking on your left, he has to slow down on the inside of the turn in order to maintain Heel position. If he doesn’t know that you’re going to turn into him, it’s easy for you to run into him! Signal that you are going to turn by stepping with your left foot slightly swiveled out to the left, then picking your right foot up, and then turning left. You can also drop your left shoulder slightly back.

•About Turn. In an About Turn, you’ll turn to your right and circle around to continue in the direction that you came from. It’s similar to a Right Turn in that your dog will have to speed up in order to keep in Heel position on the turn. Signal that you are going to turn by stepping with your right foot slightly swiveled out to the right, picking your left foot up and past your right foot, and then completing your turn. You can also drop your right shoulder slightly back.

•Figure Eight. In obedience competition, you’ll need to do a Figure Eight exercise, in which you walk in a pattern that looks like the number 8, around two people who serve as “posts.” This will require you to teach more gradual turns, with your dog on both the inside of the turn and outside of the turn. You can help your dog by doing similar footwork as in the Left Turn and Right Turn, except that your turns will be more gradual.

In obedience competitions, you will need to walk together as a team.

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