A Lot for a Little: Using Addiction to Cure Your Training Struggles

Congratulations!  You and your pup have graduated to the next level of training.  You took them to a basic puppy kindergarten level class, where they learned their first lessons in social play.  You taught them how to Sit, Down, Come (most of the time), Leave It, the beginnings of a good Stay and hopefully, a few more choice things.  Now it is time to move on.

It is time to learn the true Art of Distraction.

 ...Literally, stop giving your dog any time to think about anything else but the reward they want from you.  Up until now, you have gone slowly.  Too slowly.  It is time to show your dog that You are the distraction to pay attention to.  If you begin to think of yourself as The Distraction, instead of the person trying to keep the dogs attention away from outside distractions, you may find yourself being more creative in your approach. 

Most basic classes are geared towards teaching the Human to communicate with their puppies.  I know mine is.  The speed at which the class moves, is for your benefit; not the dogs.  The dogs can move and learn a whole lot faster than my kindergarten classes go.  This is because if we were moving at the speed of Dog, no one would enjoy my class but me.

At this point in your puppy's development in training (we'll call this level 1 1/2), he should be capable of doing a lot for very little.  Most of you have made the mistake of removing the reward too soon, and are expecting your dog to work for free well before he is ready.  If this has happened, your dog is no longer focused on you, and you have become ineffective background sound attached to his leash.  You may be wondering why you took a class in the first place, as the dog clearly hasn't learned anything.

Or the opposite has occurred, and you are still giving the dog too many rewards for every little thing she does that is correct.  And you now have a dog who refuses to listen, unless you are standing right in front of her, stuffing treats down her gullet....Until something more interesting comes along, and she decides THAT is more fun.


In both cases, you now have a dog who doesn't listen "unless they choose to."  So how do you fix this?  How do you become The Distraction?

First, make sure that the reward you are working with makes your dog bananas.  Seriously.  If you are using a reward that holds a higher value for your dog, he will work harder to get it, which ultimately means you will need to dole out less of them, and he will give you more focused attention between rewards.

Positive Reinforcement:  The Good Addiction, as it were.  You get the animal hooked on treats, or a favorite game, or toy, and then withhold the One thing the animal now "needs."  'Needs' being in quotation, as I am not referring to vital and basic physical needs, such as water, shelter, nutrition, etc.  I wouldn't infringe on a creature's Rights, and neither should you.  Find the thing that your dog wants more than anything, and you dole it out as You choose to...So long as the dog stays hooked.  Now you have an Addict, and you can use this to create behaviors that You want, or continue to build upon the basic ones you learned in that kindergarten environment.

Couple this addiction with some kind of enforcer, or corrective, when the dog chooses to ignore the given cue.  I am a big fan of Corrective Circles:  I ask for a Sit when the dog is stopped next to my side, for instance.  The dog knows darn well what Sit means (we've spent the past 3 weeks practicing it, yes?) and stares at me like she's never heard the word before.  Rather then fall in to the natural Human tendency to be louder, or repeat myself, (or my least favorite move---The Human who immediately goes for their treat bag when the dog ignores them)  I will simply say "no" and take her in a tight, small circle, using my body and the leash to bring her with me.  When we arrive and the place we started, I will again say "Sit."  When she does the Sit, she will now receive several bits of the Thing That Makes Her Crazy....Her ultimate reward.

 I will then repeat the exercise.  Coming to a stop and asking for that Sit next to me.  She will most likely do this eagerly in anticipation of The Thing That Makes Her Crazy.  But rather then allow her the predicted result, I will simply drop my hand with The Thing That Makes Her Crazy, in front of her nose (yes, just like we did when she was 10 wks old), and immediately step forward, giving her whatever cue I am using for the "move with me" motion.  Only a step in to this, I will stop and ask for another Sit at my side.

Provided I am using the right reward, she will most likely park it quick. Her initial frustration at not receiving The Thing That Makes Her Crazy is now working for me, instead of against.  At this point in the game, that Thing That Makes Her Crazy in my hand is now my magic wand, and I can most likely ask for several rounds of stepping and sitting, before I give her even a teensy taste of whatever it is she wants.  I can move her closer to dogs.  I can ask for so much more focus in distracting environments, simply because I am moving at the speed of dog now.

This is not a skill that only Professional Dog Teachers can possess.  You can do this.



The quicker, and more fluidly you can learn to transition from one exercise to the next, the better your dogs focus will become.  Start them off with a 'hit' of The Thing That Makes Them Crazy, then make it completely unpredictable as to when that Thing will be provided again, and they most likely will work harder to get it.  They are no longer at the baby stage of needing to move slowly, or take as many breaks in between.

When you are still moving at the speed of "...Sit.....Good....Treat...Come...Sit" your dog may be doing this:

"Sit.(ok, i planted my butt, and nothing happened fast enough...ooh...did you see that?!....What's that dog doing over there?...did he just get a better treat than me?...) Good..(ok cool, but HEY! What's happening over there?) Treat (Awesome! When I look over there, my person gives me a treat! I should look over there more often!)..."

Timing is everything.  Learning to keep your dog moving, and working, is tough.  I get that.  But if you don't learn to use that magic wand to its potential, you may never wean your pup off the treats to a satisfactory degree.  I still carry rewards in my pocket when I walk my dogs.  Not necessarily because they need it anymore, but because I believe in paying my dogs for a job well done.

If suddenly we come upon a particularly tough distraction, one which may result in my dogs being too involved with other dogs, or mobbed by kids, I will step to the side and work my dogs.  This helps me in two ways.

One:  The approaching distraction may see that the dogs are actively engaged in some kind of training exercise, and stay out of our space.

Two:  It is an excellent opportunity for my dogs to practice the stuff they know. I get to reinforce all the training I have built, to keep their skills sharp and functioning.

And if I am using The Thing That Makes Them Crazy.....They will be more than satisfied with the smallest of tastes for the largest of jobs.