Hello Puppy Pet Degree Class!

Here is your continued practice Homework for Week 4 of Puppy Pet Degree.

  • Emergency Recall (please see the instructions and video below)
    Goal for this week: Your dog will be able to respond to his or her emergency recall word (e.g., Hurry, Hustle, Come, Speed, etc.) with two people calling the dog back and forth across the room.
    Video: Emergency Recall – Coming When Called | By: Urban Dogs
    Remember, your emergency recall should be rewarded 99% of the time and you should be practicing it only when you are willing to pay your dog for his hard work. The goal here is to change his/her perception about coming to you. Most dogs have poor recalls because Pet Guardians only call them when the fun is about to end (e.g., leashing them up to go home, taking them inside, clipping their toenails, putting them in the crate, etc.). You will never use this word for those things because they are unpleasant. Instead, you will call him/her inside when you’re going to reward with his/her favorite treat and then send your dog back out to play with “Go Play.” You should call your dog to you 10 times a day in the house, give him his/her favorite treat, and then send your dog back to having fun with “Go Play.”
    Essentially, every time you use this word, it will be for training and because you are going to send him/her back to what he/she was doing. It should never be used for punishment. We do this 99% of the time because if an emergency situation happens, your dog has that much reinforcement history built into the skill and will be able to immediately come to you. I say 99% because if your dog is ever in danger, that is the 1% time that you will not let him/her go back to what he/she was doing. You can teach a generic Come or use another word that means the same thing, but your Emergency Recall cue should always be rewarded and the rules should consistently be followed.
    Four Rules for Emergency Recall

    • Always use high value treats that your dog only gets when you use that word (to build a conditioned emotional response)
    • Always send your dog back to what he or she was doing unless it is an actual emergency; this means 99% of the time you’re sending them back
    • Always reward for “Name of Cue;” ONLY cue it when you are prepared to follow through with a high value reward
    • Give your dog several tiny treats when he or she comes to you and throw a verbal praise party. Make it a big deal!

  • Sit and Maintain (see the Instructions for Week 1 and NOTE below)
    Goal for this week: Your dog maintains a Sit as you walk to the end of a 6-foot leash, return to him/her, and then give the Release cue.
    NOTE: This week we are working on Duration and Distance (3 Ds: Distance, Duration, and Distraction). When you begin adding criteria to a skill, such as adding Distance, you only build one criteria at a time. In order to move 6 feet away from your dog, your dog should have a solid 15 second Sit-Maintain so that when you add the second criteria (Distance), your dog is more than prepared for a new level of difficulty. Remember, if your dog fails more than twice, we’re making it too difficult. Lower your criteria. Start with one step back, then two steps back, then three steps back. The Distance should be gradual.

  • Down and Maintain (please see the instructions for Week 2)
    Goal for this week: Your dog will be able to do a Down with only the verbal Down cue; and with only the hand cue.
    NOTE: Wherever you are at in the process, it’s important to have clear Hand and Verbal cues before you begin adding criteria to the Maintain behavior. We cannot work up to a Down-Maintain from 6 feet away if the hand cue requires you to point all the way down to the floor while standing in front of your dog so that his/her nose can follow your finger. If you’re having any difficulty fading the Lure cue, we would be happy to help!

  • Four on the Floor (please see the instructions below and refer to the video from Week 2)
    Goal for this week: Your dog will be able to practice keeping Four on the Floor with every person in the house and/or at least 3 neighbors or friends.
    Video: Four Feet on the Floor | By: Chirag Patel
    It’s important to keep in mind that dogs jump up because the behavior has been reinforced. Some dogs find it reinforcing to receive any reaction from the human, such as yelling at them or pushing them off, so that usually doesn’t help them to learn what you want them to do. All of our energy and communication typically comes from above the waist (i.e., hand interactions, talking to them, facial expressions, etc.). It’s just natural that dogs would jump up to try to interact with us more.
    When greeting dogs that like to jump, it helps if you turn slightly away (about 45°) and crouch down to pet them at your side. Facing forward can often encourage more jumping. This will essentially allow you to bring the fun to them. If your dog jumps while you are bent down, immediately stand up, turn around, and walk away from him or her for a few seconds. This will help him or her understand that jumping up makes all of the attention stop.
    If your pup knows Sit, you can also ask for that while still slightly turned. Sit is incompatible with jumping up and it helps the dog to be told what you want him or her to do instead. If the dog Sits, that would be the perfect time to reinforce by crouching down and offering more attention and petting. If the dog tries to jump again, repeat the steps above. In the beginning, make sure your energy and behavior is not too exciting. Over time, you will slowly build up to behaviors that generally cause your dog to jump up on you.
    It is also a good idea to reward the dog for keeping four feet on the floor. Sitting helps to prevent jumping, but just the act of keeping those paws down should be heavily reinforced with praise, attention, and/or treats. Don’t wait for the dog to jump up before you give him or her guidance with the Sit cue or start reinforcing by bending down and giving him or her attention. Being proactive is essential! When reinforcing with treats, it is recommended that if they are delivered on the floor that you give your dog consent to eat off the floor by saying “Get It.” We don’t want dogs to think that all food on the floor belongs to them. You should Mark good behavior by saying “Yes,” and then following up with the treat and “Get It”. This helps keep the dog’s attention on the floor because… what do we want? That’s right! Four on the floor.

  • Loose Leash Walking Step 3: Let’s Go (please see the instructions below)
    Goal for this week: Your dog will be able to respond to the words Let’s Go by reorienting toward you while walking on leash indoors)
    There will always be moments when interacting with your dog on a leash that you will need to quickly and effectively turn your dog the opposite way. The Let’s Go cue allows you to do that without having to drag your dog on the leash while walking. This can be helpful when your dog sees something exciting and wants to pull in the other direction. It can also be helpful when your dog gets stuck on a smell while walking and you would like to move on. We also recommend using this after you have come to a stop on a sidewalk before crossing the street.

    • You have already learned the first step! This is simply teaching your dog to move with you on leash! By now, you should have mastered this in every room in your house.
    • In Step 2, we will start adding turns or U-turns in the opposite direction from where you and your dog were moving. This is called Pivoting for Success. You can use your Touch cue to help your dog follow you in the opposite direction or use your voice to encourage your dog to come along with you. Before moving onto the next step, your dog should be able to navigate in various directions with you, including around furniture in your house, in the inside perimeter of the rooms in your house, and by changing directions with you at various points while you are practicing so that you he or she learns to quickly change directions with you.
    • We will now begin to add the cue, “Let’s Go.” You will do this by changing directions and saying, “Let’s Go.” Mark and reward as soon as your dog chooses to follow you in the direction you are now moving. This does not always have to be when changing directions. You can tell your dog to “Let’s Go” if he or she is lagging behind you a little bit as well. Do this in multiple training sessions before moving on.
    • We will now add distractions. You can do this by placing a toy or treat down in front of you out of reach. When your dog looks at the toy or treat or moves toward it, you will then instruct your dog to move away from the stimulus with your “Let’s Go” cue. Practice this in multiple training sessions before adding it to your walks.

Try to set aside 15 minutes a day (or 3 five minute sessions a day) to set your dog up for success and meet your homework goals for this week.

Please let us know if you have any questions or if there is anything you need more clarification on.

See you in class next week!

Happy Training!