A few months ago, one of TFT’s pals, Lady-Mae, went missing for four days at Sentosa because she broke free of her collar when fireworks went off. This inspired us to think about our own dogs and, if given the opportunity or exposed to one of their fears, would they run too?
We have put together a few tips on how we think we can minimize the chance of our dogs running away for whatever reason, be it boredom, bad recall, a scary trigger, a dash for freedom. And unfortunately, our dogs do get rewarded for running away because they get to explore the world, dig in the trash, chase the cat, etc. The more successful a dog’s escape is, the more likely it is for them to want to do it again. How can we prevent this?
1. Identify what might cause your dog to run away.
Many dogs are afraid of loud noises such as thunderstorms or construction banging. Some dogs have extreme separation anxiety. They get so anxious and panicky when left at home alone that they try to leave to look for their family.
Going somewhere without me mama?
When Lucy was a puppy, she stayed with a friend when owner Sisi was away. Lucy’s separation anxiety kicked into full mode when she was left alone at home. She jumped out of her play pen, made her way up the kitchen counter, leapt out the window and squeezed through the main gate. Thankfully, she was eventually found at AVA. Lucy’s trigger was being left alone at home. This was remedied by addressing her separation anxiety issues right away.
For dogs that are afraid of loud noises or that startle easily, you can work slowly toward desensitizing their fears, but more importantly, being aware of their limits and not pushing them too much beyond that.
Loud noises do not bother me at all.
2. Being calm with open doors.
Any dog that dashes out of car doors, front doors and gates is potentially a dangerous problem. This behavior should be addressed before disaster hits.
Before a walk, train your dog to sit and wait until you walk out the door first, then allowing them to follow behind. To train this, open the door wide and see if your dog tries to dash out. If they do, shut the door abruptly before they get a chance to exit – this will surprise them. If they sit, praise nd reward generously. Continue this until your dog sits and looks up at you for leadership before taking a step out the door.
Before your dog jumps out of the car, they should also sit and wait for your instruction to do so.Having your dog learn the ‘wait’ command can be helpful here.
For those who live in landed properties, front gates are always accidentally left opened. Your dog should get used to the gate being open without running out.
Can I come out now?
3. Not bolting as soon as the leash unclips.
Most dogs learn very quickly that the sound of the leash unclipping from their collar means they are free to go. Either to run free at the dog park, or any other open space. One of TFT’s friends, Leto, once ran away onto the road because her leash was unclipped accidentally when her minder was removing the leash from the cafe chair. Leto immediately bolted and it took several long and scary minutes to get her back.
You can address this by training them at home everyday after a walk. When you are about to unleash your dog, have them sit and make the unclipping motion/sound without actually releasing the collar, and only when your dog remains in a calm, seated position do you release them. This might take a few repetitions. If your dog runs off before you release them, bring them back to repeat the exercise.
Your dog should always come when called. Apart from the fact that it could be very embarrassing to scream yourself hoarse while your dog happily ignores you, this misbehavior could also be potentially dangerous.
Awhile back, Olive was waiting at a traffic light with her owner, Vicky. Something spooked her and she pulled from Vicky’s grip and dashed across the road, in the middle of oncoming traffic. A loud “Olive, COME!” made Olive immediately turn and run back to Vicky. We dare not think of what would have happened if Olive did not have a strong recall.
Humans are bound to also make mistakes and leave gates/doors open, not leashing your dog before letting them out the car or your leash may snap at an inopportune time. Only time spent training our dog on its recall until it is perfected can “correct” this situation. As dog owners, unless we have this skill down to pat, we can never be truly assured that no matter what the circumstance, our dogs will return to us and out of harm’s way.
Gotta go! Mom’s calling me!
These are a few suggestions we have for minimizing the risk of your dog getting lost, and are by no means exhaustive. Share your thoughts and experiences with us.
Contributed by Vivien Chin
For this post, we have a sweet deal for you. Para4Pets is offering our readers 25% off all purchases, from now till the end of April! Quote “The Furry Tales” when you make your purchase with Para4Pets by Edna and to apply the discount.
Last weekend, The Furry Tales were at the Pet Expo. We had a great time meeting old friends and making new ones. Kafka entered the Obedience Trial at the Intermediate level. Unfortunately, he did not do so well. He seemed to be under the weather and got rather distracted in the ring. He was looking for Lucy his girlfriend. Dum dum dum…. we have to have that “talk” soon. We didn’t do as well as we’d hoped, but at least he looked good! Thank you Para4Pets by Edna for the beautiful collar and leash so that he can look handsome! And thank you to KONG Singapore for his training toys so that he can be happy!
Kafka looking dapper in his Para4Pets collar and leash.
Are you ready? Forward…
Taking the first step forward!
Kafka doing heelwork.
Kafka following closely.
I be the tallest boy in class! Kafka in the sit-stay exercise.
Behind the scenes practice: gimme the ball!
Para4Pets makes bespoke paracord collars and leashes for your furry ones. Kafka had a set sponsored by Para4Pets. The leash was thin and light which is great for training. When you are in the Novice and higher classes, your dog is to heel off the lead. Having a light leash makes the transition from heeling with leash to heeling without leash easier. A thin lead is hard on your hands if you have to bring a 43kg dog around on his regular walks. I suggest ordering a thicker one for that purpose. It’s not advisable to let your dog drag a leash with a loop handle. Serious injury can occur if its leg gets caught in the loop while it’s running. You may order one without a loop handle if you would like to let your dog drag his leash around during training.
For a limited time, Para4Pets is offering our readers 25% off all purchases! It’s a great bargain! Make your order now!
Para4Pets leash. Looks good on Kafka!
Apart from the collar and leash, we were fortunate to also have our toys sponsored. Toys are a great way to reward your dog for good work done. Some dogs love to chase, and fetch and tug. Kafka’s favourite toy is a ball with a rope attached to it. Amongst his toys, he has a KONG Funster ball in X-Small size. He likes a ball that is not too big and fits nicely in his mouth. The X-Small KONG Funsters ball is 2.5″ while the small size is 4″. Four inches is a little too big for training. You want something that can be easy grasped in one hand.
KONG Funsters Ball.
Kong Tugger Knot
Kafka focusing on the “shoulder”.
Watch my “shoulder”.
One way to teach focused heeling in an obedience routine is to place a toy at your “shoulder”, (a nicer term for armpit). This teaches them to look up and not downward.
Wait for it…. wait for it…
The KONG Funster Ball is not just an ordinary ball. It is a fabric ball with a rope attached to it. The rope is rather important. It allows you to throw the ball farther, manipulate the ball, tug at the ball and turn it into a game of tug. Balls without ropes have the potential to get lodge in the dog’s throat. With the rope, you are able to, god forbid, pull the ball out when it gets stuck in your dog’s mouth. This happens, especially, with large, high-drive, dogs and tennis balls. You don’t have to worry so much if the ball is large and your dog is the sort who doesn’t have a sense of urgency.
Enjoying his reward after some work.
Kafka and his KONG Funsters Ball.
Other than a ball, Kafka loves his tug toys. The KONG Tugger Knot is soft yet tough enough even for a German Shepherd. It is made of knotted rope covered by a plush toy exterior. It comes in small, medium and large sizes. The medium sized KONG Frog Tugger Knot was just right for Kafka. It’s big enough for him to clamp his deadly fangs down on and small enough for his mama to manipulate. Large sized Tugger Knots are great just for fun but the smaller sizes are better for training.
Kafka tugging on his KONG Tugger Knots.
NOM NOM NOM!
After placing the toy at your “shoulder”, you can start moving it away so that your dog does not depend too much on the toy for its focal point. I held the toy in my right hand and whenever he looked up to my “shoulder” aka armpit, I rewarded him with the KONG Tugger Knot. In the photo below, I was petting Kafka’s chin with my left hand because he looked so cute.
Kafka must still look up even when the toy is in my other hand.
You have to be fit to keep up with a German Shepherd. I was tired out just playing tug with him.
Kafka the land shark!
Kafka giving me a workout.
In the obedience trials, your hand should not be disturbing the dog. Conventionally, your hand is placed at your side or on the left side of your tummy. The toy was in my right hand, sometimes by my side and sometimes behind me. Kafka still had too look up or at my left hand.
The last exercise of the training sessions are the sit-stays and down-stays. That’s best taught when your dog is not bursting with excitement. They need self-control and patience during those exercises.
Lucy tries her hand (or mouth) at training Kafka too. She’s doing quite well, I must admit.
Kaffy, heel!
I be walking my dog.
Check out our future post for an upcoming deal for KONG toys!
Contributed by Vicky Ti
Dog agility is a popular sport, whereby a handler directs their dog through several obstacles, such as tunnels, weave poles, hurdles and hoops. During competitive agility events, handlers and dogs are judged based on timing and accuracy through a pre-set course.
Recently, Lucy and Olive started taking basic agility classes at Robertson Quay. Run by Alan of The Alpha Pack, these sessions have helped us become more aware of our body language and non-verbal communication with our dogs, as well as improved our fitness levels (hey, sprinting from one end of the course to the other is hard work!).
We started by mastering one obstacle at a time, before stringing three or four of them together in a mini-course.
Dogs generally love running and jumping, so it’s about tapping on that instinct and directing it in a fun and positive way to each obstacle. We use treats, toys and praise to motivate them (as with obedience training or teaching them any trick). We’ve covered the tunnel, hurdle, tire jump and weave poles so far. We don’t have equipment for the a-frame, teeter-totter and other big-item obstacles yet – we’ll cross that hurdle when we come to it (see what I did there?).
Owners also need to learn to be aware of their body and what they are communicating to their dog. Alan encourages us to use hand signs instead of verbal cues, as a start, to create that awareness of ourselves and improve our dogs’ focus. He also explained that in a competition, there may be considerable distance between you and your dog and a lot of background noise, so instead of shouting your lungs out (as many handlers do), it would be easier for the dog to focus on your body language and hand signs. Makes good sense.
Coordination is a little bit of a challenge for Sisi, who takes awhile to think which hand and leg should be extended to help Lucy enter the tunnel or which way to turn her body to encourage Lucy to go in a certain direction! It helps to practice the motions you need to do for the course without the dog first – agility is a team sport – even if you feel silly! This is especially necessary (for Sisi anyway!) once the course gets more complicated with front and rear crosses and other things that we haven’t started learning yet! Don’t jump the gun and skip ahead before you and your dog are ready.
As an example of how important body language is, one time, when Sisi ran towards the tunnel and motioned for Lucy to go through, Lucy came and stood in front of Sisi instead…because Sisi was facing her body away from the tunnel while her hand gestured toward the tunnel – Lucy got confused and chose to follow her owner’s body direction instead. Even the minutest head turns are important signals.
Lucy running out of the tunnel.
If you are interested in trying out agility with your dog, Alan (contact: +65-94897602) does hold trial classes every now and then. Otherwise, as a start, you can also try simple exercises with your dog, beginning with hurdles, like in our previous post or in the following video, where I’m directing Olive to change directions after a hurdle jump (you can set up a makeshift hurdle out of a broomstick on boxes at home!).
You can set up chairs or box obstacles in your house to teach the weave, or hold a hula hoop for your dog to jump through. We’ll be interested to know how you get on! New sport for the new year!
Many dog owners like to boast that their dog can do this or that trick, and love to show people what their dogs can do. All that is fine and good, but over the time we’ve had our dogs, we’ve realized that there are really five most crucial “tricks” every dog should know. And by ‘know,’ we don’t mean perform only when there are treats. We mean that the dog should be so well-trained in these five commands that when they are told to do them, they do so automatically without thinking.
1. Come (Recall)
We believe that recall (coming when called) is the most important commands for a dog to obey. It is most useful for emergency situations, but also for stopping your dogs from rolling in mud, jumping in the river, or approaching other dogs that need their distance. Unfortunately, as much as we’d like to believe dogs come programmed with recall, it is something that must be taught. It is easier with some dogs than others, but there are no excuses not to train recall with your dog.
Olive runs back to Vicky when she is called (“Come!”)
One day, as Vicky was standing with Olive near a road junction chatting with another dog owner, Olive suddenly bolted out onto the road. The leash was pulled out of Vicky’s hands and cars were turning as the green light had just come on. A reliable recall (a firm “Olive, come”) saved her, as Olive turned back straight away when she was already two metres out on the road. We don’t know why Olive bolted – maybe something spooked her, or she saw an irresistible boyfriend across the road – but these things do happen, and a consistent recall can save your dog’s life.
Recall is a valuable tool that should be practiced all the time – at home, on walks, in the dog park – make it fun! Things to try: (1) call your dog in an excited voice and run the other way so that it’s like a game of tag, or (2) feed your dog a treat whenever you call their name during a walk, or (3) when you see your dog already heading in your direction at home, call their name and praise/play with them when they come.
2. Sit
Sit is one of the first things anybody teaches their dog. Most new dog owners teach their dog sit before realising that come is actually more important. Sit is useful in situations where you want to stop your dog from moving. For example, if your dog is moving around too much at while waiting for the traffic light, you can ask it to sit to give yourself a peace of mind. It also saves you some embarrassment when you need to pick up that freshly made poo that your dog left in the grass but he is all ready to check out the next tree. Asking your dog to sit when it wants to jump up on you gives him something else to do and save your expensive dress from being shredded.
Lulu practicing sit while on her walk.
Vivien and Kafka were out walking one day and a small white Maltese on the loose came charging at them. Vivien quickly asked Kafka to sit and watch her while the white thing barked and ran around them. Kafka was not bothered by the yappy dog but just to be safe, Vivien asked Kafka to look at her. She asked the owner of the Maltese to get his dog back while Kafka maintained eye contact with her. Perhaps comforted by how obedient Kafka was, the owner of the Maltese ignored Vivien’s request for him to retrieve his dog. She then asked Kafka to follow her closely and walked off. Unfortunately for big dogs, the blame always falls on them if something bad happens, regardless of whether it is their fault or not. It was life-saving for Kafka to know “sit” and also “watch” in this particular situation.
3. Stay
In the previous anecdote with Vivien and Kafka, she paired “sit” with “watch.” Stay is another important command and it usually comes together with “sit”. Your dog can know how to stay while in the down or stand position, but it is easier to teach stay after asking your dog to sit. It is useful when you need to do something, but need your dog to stay where he is, e.g. handing something to someone or helping someone who is afraid of dogs. Vivien has used the “stay” command to ask her dogs to wait while she helped another dog owner catch a dog on the loose.
Stay is also useful when you need to order that cuppa but you can’t bring your dog into the cafe and there is nowhere to tie them to. Kafka and Lulu can wait patiently outside a restaurant while Vivien orders her food. In this case, it is life-saving for the owner.
Note that Lulu is not chained to anything – she patiently sits and stays while her mama orders life-saving coffee.
Kafka knows he has to “stay” while his mama tries to take a good photo of him.
4. Leave it
Lucy is allergic to many things so there are countless foods that she can’t have. At every cafe you go to, there is bound to be scraps of food under the table, and food that you yourself might drop from your plate. At some beaches, there are often chicken bones lying on the sand. It is so important that should you notice your dog about to go for something on the ground, the “leave it” command be used and obeyed. When Sisi spots chicken bones on the ground, before Lucy gets to it, she is told to leave it.
Lucy ignores treats on the ground when told to “leave it”
Vicky uses the “leave it” command to stop Olive from chasing after pigeons on walks, which is useful because Olive is a strong dog and a sudden lunge onto the road could be very dangerous.
5. Drop it
A lot of the time, your dog will smell something before you see it. Sisi has had to dig chicken bones and other forbidden food out of Lucy’s mouth because she found it before Sisi had a chance to tell her to leave it. Along Robertson Quay where The Furry Tales often walk, the ground is often littered with scraps of food because of the cafes along the river. With the “drop it” command, Lucy now spits out what she has in her mouth and is rewarded with super yummy treats instead – rewarding with high value treats when your dog drops its prize is very important when training this command.
Sisi found Lucy digging in the trash and commands her to drop whatever is in her mouth (“Drop it!”)
Olive is really good with the “drop it” command. Once, she was on her walk and picked up someone’s disgusting and dirty sock in her mouth. Vicky told her to “drop it” and the sock fell out of her mouth instantly. The only thing Vicky still struggles with is bread that kind (and annoying) souls leave for pigeons – this is Olive’s Achilles heel and she cannot muster the willpower to drop it once there is bread involved.
Contributed by Vivien Chin
Kafka the German Shepherd is a little different from the other furry members of The Furry Tales. While the other dogs are full-time pets. Kafka is a working line German Shepherd Dog. It means that dogs from his line are all breed for their working aptitude. They are used in service like the military, police force, as guide dogs, herding dogs and sport dogs. Kafka is a part-time pet dog and part-time working dog. His pet dog duties include being a mama’s boy; his “work” is a protection sport called Schutzhund or IPO.
Kafka barking at a “bad guy” during his protection training.
What is Schutzhund/IPO?
Schutzhund, also known as Internationale Prüfungsordnung (IPO), is a three-part dog protection dog sport. It originated from a breed suitability test for German Shepherd Dogs (GSD) developed in the early 1900s in Germany. A GSD has to pass the test in order for it to be allowed to breed. A good GSD needs to be able to do nosework, show intelligence and desire to work with the handler, and have some protection instinct. The exercises in the test were developed to assess these three qualities of the dog and this breed survey has now become a dog sport with many participants around the world. It is also open now to other breeds like the Rottweiler, Doberman, and Giant Schnauzer.
To pass the nosework test, the dog is required to follow a track closely and search for lost articles in an open field. To demonstrate its intelligence and ability to work with the handler, the dog is required to perform an obedience routine that includes heelwork and retrieving. Lastly, a dog with courage and protection instinct is required to search for the “bad guy” amongst a set of six “blinds” – pyramidal tents opened on one side – bark to alert the handler and intimidate the decoy, and attack the decoy when he tries to escape.
Kafka taking a bite out of Frank Rottleb
IPO is a very challenging sport and it takes at least two years to bring a dog to a level sufficient to participate in a trial. There are three trials levels of increasing difficulty: IPO1, IPO2, and IPO3. The dog obtains a title of the same name after passing each level. Louise Jollyman, a talented trainer who represented the UK in the IPO world championships for German Shepherds in 2007, wrote a very informative website (http://www.schutzhund-training.com/) on the sport and gives an excellent description of the sport.
Kafka is currently in training for a title in IPO at the German Shepherd Dog Club of Singapore (GSDC). Once he achieves his title, he will be, in principle, allowed to have some fun in making little Kafkas. However, his mama is not so keen on taking care of his kids for him so she is probably not going to breed him.
Tracking
The first part of the IPO trial is the tracking phase. I hand it over to Louise to explain what tracking is about. When Kafka was a puppy, he showed great talent at tracking and used to get up at 7am in the morning to go tracking. We use food in the training. Unfortunately, it is very hard to find good land that is free of ants to do this training and so his mama did not cultivate that ability to the fullest.
Shaun, the handler, and his GSD Hagrid are working on tracking. Behind them are Frank and Michael, trainers from Germany.
Obedience
The next phase in IPO is obedience. In this phase, there is a fixed heelwork pattern that the handler and dog must follow. After the heelwork, the dog completes a series of dumbbell retrieves on flat surface, over a vertical hurdle and an A-frame. It is then followed by a send away exercise where the dog has to run away from the handler in a straight line and lay down when the handler gives the command to do so. Separate from these parts is the “long down” when the dog has to stay in down position for approximately six mins while the another dog does the aforementioned exercises. Kafka has gone further in his obedience training than in tracking. Though he has not participated in an IPO trial, he has won prizes in local obedience competitions.
Kafka on his way back from retrieving the dumbbell.
This is what a complete IPO obedience routine looks like. In this video, Mia Skogster, a world renowned trainer and competitor, is competing with her Belgian Malinois, Räty.
Protection
Protection work is every protection dogs’ favourite activity. Kafka is no exception. He loves chasing bad guys and biting them. Dogs that perform well in the protection phase of the trial are often selected for breeding. A good dog is confident, has courage, bites well and is controllable. Protection training is a very complex subject and requires much knowledge and experience. Randall Hoadley, training director of the DFW Working Dogs club, explains the work very nicely here. The “bad guy” whom the dog bites is called a “helper” or a “decoy”.
Axel the GSD is attacking Shaun the helper and preventing him from escaping.
Shaun from the GSDC is giving a demonstration on protection work.
Kafka running towards a blind during training.
Kafka is running towards a mini blind. It is a smaller blind that is more portable for training.
Michael’s Belgian Malinois Lassie is guarding the helper in the blind.
This what a real competition dog looks like. In the photo above, the Malaysian competitor Michael Lee’s dog, Lassie, is guarding and barking at the helper cornered in the blind. He is not allowed to bite unless the helper tries to escape or when Michael gives him the command to attack.
This is what the protection phase looks like in a trial.
Recently, Team Malaysia clinched the 4th spot in the FCI IPO world championships, only one point away from the champion. It is an incredible achievement for this region because of the lack of IPO enthusiasts and the difficult training conditions here. It is my aspiration to represent Singapore, like Michael Lee did for Malaysia, and hopefully do the country proud one day.
Team Malaysia at the FCI IPO competition in 2013.
I had the privilege of being part of Team Malaysia in 2013 and watching Michael compete with Lassie.
At 4th place, Michael Lee and his Belgiam Malinois, Lassie at the FCI 2014.
This year, I was not able to watch the competition in Finland. There, Michael finally had his hard work pay off with a spot on the podium.
How to get started?
Schutzhund is a demanding and challenging sport and people who are serious about it know the importance of a good dog and a good team.
Find a club that can support your interest and your goals.
IPO is a team sport. My friend from Germany, Jogi Zank, an excellent trainer and international competitor, underscores the importance of working in a team. During my month-long training in Germany, I saw firsthand how having friends to help and nudge you along, to discuss details about training and back you up when things are not going so well can raise one’s standard tremendously. I had a very motivated and wonderful club in Dallas, the DFW Working Dogs club, where everyone was committed to excelling in the sport. In Singapore, my team is the German Shepherd Dog Club of Singapore. We meet regularly and we support one another in our training here.
Get a good dog.
Often, neophytes of IPO first buy a dog and then become interested in training. They then find out that their dog is not well-suited for the sport. If they are keen on the sport, they will get another dog and then start training. This was how I started. Kafka is my second GSD dog. I suggest you find a club and talk to the people there and do some research before getting a dog.
I bought Kafka from a breeder in Belgium. Kafka is a very good dog, especially for a novice like me. He has enough drive, works readily for me, is not too stubborn, is confident, has a hard and full bite, and has a very high “pack drive”. He is also exceedingly intelligent. I first noticed this when I was running around the kitchen island trying to get him to catch me. Lulu could never catch me when I did that. She did not know how to change direction and intercept me, but Kafka did that at four months old. A bonus point for me is that Kafka is very sociable with people and most dogs. That is nice to have, given that we live in densely populated country like Singapore.
Start training.
When I first started out, I was asking around for a “training plan,” but to no avail. I think most people feel their way around or they have a plan but are not sure how to articulate it. Knowing something doesn’t mean that you know how to explain it. It was only much later that I met people who could explain how and when to do what with your puppy. Even so, they were very careful to give the caveat that each puppy is different and the plan is just a guideline. Attending seminars by Michael Ellis and Mia Skogster and reading Louise’s website helped me tremendously in structuring my training.
Be a sponge.
Be open-minded and learn as much as you can from as many people as possible. Some methods work better than others, but you won’t know until you’ve opened your eyes to all of them.
Don’t give up.
When you are first starting out, you will learn about many different methods and hear many different opinions. You will experiment with different methods and find that your training is like an incomplete patchwork blanket with pieces here and there. You’ll learn along the way how to collect the information and piece together your own training style. You will be confused. You will be frustrated. You will encounter problems and make mistakes along the way. That is only normal. This is where I find support from team members very helpful. Persevere and you’ll see light at the end of the tunnel.
Have fun!
IPO is like scaling a mountain. It’s challenging yet highly satisfying and addictive. A large part of the joy in training is seeing how much fun Kafka is having every time we train. Whenever I put his collar on for training he starts wagging his tail and gets excited. It’s also fun to see how other people in your team are progressing.
Where to go?
If you are interested in Schutzhund/IPO training, come down to the GSDC training ground at The Animal Resort. We train there every Sunday from 5pm. Obedience classes are also available for pet dogs of all breeds. Check out the GSDC website for more details.
Contributed by Vivien Chin
Clicker Training has become increasingly popular. In a nutshell, clicker training is using a device that makes a ‘click’ sound to mark a behavior that you want. For example, if you want your dog to sit, clicking when your dog places his behind on the ground indicates to him that that is the behavior that will get him a reward. Some people call the same type of training “marker training.” Instead of using a device, they use their voice to mark a behavior.
There are three basic steps to marking a behavior:
Loading/charging the clicker
Marking a behavior
Rewarding the behavior
1. Loading/Charging the Clicker
To begin, you have to “load” or “charge” the clicker. The clicker by itself has no meaning to your dog. It’s just a piece of plastic making a sound that is irrelevant to him. To give it meaning or to “charge” it, you have to pair it with something that already means something to your dog. Typically, we pick a training reward which is already meaningful, like food or toys, and associate the clicker with it. We make that association by clicking and presenting the training reward after the clicker. In other words, you click and you give your dog a treat after clicking. Your dog will eventually learn that when the click happens, good things are coming. If you have a dog that loves food, you can use its kibble as training reward so that he will not get fat on unhealthy junk food.
Kafka sits for a treat.
2. Marking the Behavior
Once the dog understands that a click is followed by a reward, you can start using the clicker to mark the behaviors you want. The clicker is used in this way: when your dog sits, you click and give it a treat. Similarly, for the behavior to be associated with the clicker, the click must happen within a split second of the behavior. From there, you have a basic understanding of clicker or marking training.
3. Rewarding the Behavior
In the initial phase of learning, the reward must follow very shortly after the clicker. For there to be a good association, the reward must be presented within 0.5 seconds of the click. Some dogs have a better working memory and thus the reward can be presented a little later.
Olive shows off her nails. This behavior is taught through clicker training.
This is clicker training in its most fundamental idea. However, from then on, there are many “stylistic variations.” I use the word “stylistic” because it is hard to say whether a method is right or wrong. Each has its advantages and disadvantages and it is dependent on the situation. For example, to get your dog to sit, you can either use capturing, free-shaping, luring or targeting. Most trainers use a combination of various methods.
Here are examples of how clicker training is employed.
Toffee on a magic carpet ride.
I taught Toffee how to get on the mat by first tossing treats onto the mat. When he got onto the mat, I clicked and tossed another treat. To reset the exercise, I picked him up and put him down outside of the mat. He did not yet understand that getting onto the mat got him a reward. So, I tossed another treat onto the mat and repeated the exercise. When he moved onto the mat consistently, I stopped tossing treats onto the mat and gave it to him from my hand instead. When I felt that he understood that getting onto the mat got him a click and a treat, I added a verbal cue. I said “Mat” and tossed a treat onto the mat. Tossing the treat onto the mat helped him understand what to do in case he got confused by the verbal command. When he stepped on the mat, I clicked and treated him from my hand. After a few times, I stopped tossing treats onto the mat and used only the verbal cue.
Summer auditioning for the circus.
Apart from stepping onto a mat, dogs and puppies can learn to step onto a raised foot pad. Summer learned to stand on a foot pad quickly. She was first lured onto the foot pad with food and I clicked when just one of her paws stepped onto the foot pad. Next, I increased the criteria by clicking only when both paws were on the foot pad. When she understood that she had to have both paws on the foot pad to get a reward, I faded out the lure. When she was less reliant on the lure, I stood further away from the foot pad so she had to go further away from me to get to the foot pad. That way, I knew that she knew what is expected of her. At this point, I introduced the verbal command and then lured her onto the foot pad. Because the command is new and does not mean anything to her, I had to show her what I wanted her to do. Eventually, I removed the luring and used only the verbal command.
Muddy puts himself high up on a pedestal.
Muddy learned how to get on the foot pad too. He is a very wary dog and was very reluctant to step onto the foot pad. We helped him by placing the foot pad between two chairs so the only way for him to get to the treat was by stepping onto the foot pad.
Here, Olive is executing a jump. First, Vicky walked over the jump with Olive. Olive responds to both a clicker as well as a verbal marker. As she jumped over the obstacle, Vicky said “Yes” to mark her behavior. Vicky repeated this a few times. When Olive jumped over the hurdle reliably, Vicky walked on the outside of the hurdle while Olive jumped over it. Olive is a smart one. She understood very quickly that jumping over is followed by “Yes” and sometimes a treat. Vicky then added “Over” just before Olive makes the jump. The smarty pants understood quickly that “Over” means jump and is followed by a click and maybe a treat. Olive was far along enough in marker training that she did not need to be rewarded with a treat each time. Now Vicky does not need to walk with Olive as Olive jumps over the hurdle any more. She can ask Olive to jump just by saying the command.
Clicker training is both easy and complex. The basic principles are easy to grasp. However, there are also considerations like what to reward that “Sit” with (treats, toys, praise, play) and how often to reward (reinforcement schedule). There are also more complex training concepts that come after, such as, proofing, generalisation, distraction training, reward placement, value of reinforcers, motivation levels, etc. In a later post, we will explain these terms and the stylistic variations we talked about above.
We hope this provides a basic understanding of what clicker training is about. For further reading, ASPCA gives a good description of clicker training. Karen Pryor Clicker Training is a Mecca for people interested in the method.
Contributed by Sisi Soh
In June this year, Lucy and I competed in our very first dog event together with her friends, Muddy and Olive. We competed in the Just For Fun (JFF) obedience trial organized by Singapore Kennel Club (SKC) at Bishan CC. Then in August, Lucy and Olive competed again in another SKC JFF obedience trial at the Singapore Expo, where Olive won 4th place. We were all so proud of her!
SKC JFF Obedience Trial August 2014: Olive won 4th place!! And is waving to her fans and supporters.
An obedience trial is a dog sport in which a dog must perfectly execute a predefined set of tasks when directed to do so by his handler. Training a dog to participate in an obedience trial increases a dog’s understanding and reliability in responding to certain basic obedience commands such as ‘sit’, ‘stay’, ‘down’, ‘stand’, ‘come’ and ‘heel’. At an obedience trial, these exercises are to be performed and will be evaluated and scored by a judge. The dog must achieve basic proficiency in each exercise in order to pass. Higher degrees of accuracy and style receive more points. For example, during a recall, your dog should trot back to you without veering to the side and should sit straight in front of you and not at an angle.
A ‘JUST FOR FUN’ standard is less strict, and allows the handlers to reward their dogs with treats after each exercise is completed.
It was quite an experience!
Top to bottom, left: Olive preparing to heel; Olive heeling; Muddy heeling. Top to bottom, right: Muddy executing down-stay; Lucy preparing to sit-stay; Lucy running back in recall.
Here’s what I learnt :
1. Perseverance furthers.
I started off thinking the training was for the dog. I soon realized it was for both of us. My dad has always called me a ‘halfway girl’. I’d buy a canvas stand, acrylic paints, enroll in painting classes, paint ten pictures, and then wake up one day never wanting to paint again. Or invest in boxes and boxes of crystals and beads to make jewelry, only to lose interest after six months.
Ever since I’ve had Lucy, there hasn’t been a single goal I’ve set for her/myself that I’ve given up on halfway.
Tanya (with Muddy), Vicky (with Olive) and I (with Lucy) decided to embark on this obedience trial path at the beginning of this year. With the help of Vivien of Rao Canine, we aimed to meet two to three mornings each week to train. While it was mostly a heap of fun, there were also frustrating times. You can have 100% reliable perfect ‘downs’ for weeks and then one morning your pooch just decides she doesn’t know what a down means anymore! Or have such an itchy dog that each time she finishes scratching, she forgets what instruction she had been following.
Perseverance furthers, they say. However, that’s only partly true – we all know how to repeat the same mistake our whole lives without the slightest difference in result. So, only intelligent, attentive perseverance furthers. That’s dog training.
So you can’t give up. You can’t get angry. Because you can’t train a dog when you’re angry. You can’t tell your dog it should know what you want. So, you take two steps back and then start again where you were last successful. You take a break. You let your dog play hard. Coz it’s not all about working. Then when playtime is over, they are more focused.
And then there’ll be days when you see that your dog finally gets what you’re asking her to do, and because of the praise and reward you provide, she will actually enjoy doing it. It’s quite something to see the penny drop for them. It motivates you to persevere.
The penny has dropped for Lucy.
2. You don’t need a group to compete (apart from group training, I also practiced with Lucy alone at home everyday), but you want one.
Apart from the obvious fun you have when training as a group, there’s a whole lot of support it can provide. I suffer from massive stage fright. I would normally never willingly sign up for something that would put me in any sort of spotlight. Having to overcome that with several judges, other competitors and an audience watching can be rather overwhelming. But it was made a lot easier with encouragement and the knowledge that I wasn’t alone.
Practicing group sit-stays are FUN! (Alexandra Park Connector)
While I’m sure every other competitor there that day was just hoping other dogs would stuff up, we were cheering each other (and our dogs) on.
3. The power of failure.
It doesn’t matter how prepared you are, how experienced you are or how well your dog is trained for a competition. That’s just the way it is when you’re working as a team. Both you and your dog need to be ‘on’ to have a good run, and since your dog is not a robot, there is always an element of unpredictability to any competition. It’s okay to be disappointed at not doing as well as you’d hoped, but there’s good in failing too because it is how we become better at training our dogs. With every failure, you’re forced to re-evaluate your training methods. (Are you rewarding quickly enough? Are you excited enough? Does your dog even understand your hand signal?)
With every failure, you’re also forced to become more inventive.
I recently read somewhere that a trainer put on masks each time she trained her dog so that it would accept handling from strangers. We resorted to jumping around like maniacs during our dogs’ sit-stays, and running around them in circles, so that they would learn not to be distracted by movement.
4. Being excited.
When I train with Lucy, I’m often so focused on using my clicker at the precise timing, feeding her after, and watching for the behavior that I forget to be excited.
Lucy heeling well – excitement, praise and treats go a long way in training!
Excitement is everything. One particular week in training, Lucy stopped doing well in her heeling exercises. She got distracted easily and wouldn’t do what I wanted. I went home and got out her favorite toy. After each good heel, I practically screamed like a banshee – “GOOD GIRL! OH MY GOD WHAT A CLEVER GIRL!” I AM SO EXCITED OVER A HEEL! And proceeded to play tug with her. She was so happy and improved tremendously that week. So, excitement is exciting! We should immerse ourselves in every opportunity. If training isn’t like a game for them, learning stops.
At the end of the day, working with our dogs towards succeeding in obedience trials is not about winning trophies or awards. It is really about analyzing your training and improving the bond and communication with your dog.
SKC JFF Obedience Trial August 2014: Lucy and I with the Judge.
SKC JFF Obedience Trial June 2014: The Furry Tales team – proud to be first time triallers! (L-R: trainer Vivien with Kafka (who competed in novice and intermediate), Sisi with Lucy, Tanya with Muddy, Vicky with Olive).
The Furry Tales 