3 Dog training myths answered with games

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In this blog I thought I would take a moment to dispel some common dog training myths… and to give you a game for each myth to play with your dog and disprove it for yourself :)

MYTH 1 Dog Training doesn’t work
People might think this because they took their puppy to puppy class and now they have an adult dog that can only be described as “naughty but nice”.


THE TRUTH:
Some dog training methods do not work! – And aversive methods that encourage the owner to be the boss can be harmful to the dog / owner relationship. 
Effective training creates a bond of trust between the owner and dog. When training is built on the foundation of relationship it is more natural and becomes lifestyle.
At Faithful Friends we use games-based dog training because it is rewarding and fun for both dog and owner... keeping the relationship bank accounts topped up all the time. The games that we use to train dogs at Faithful Friends are from AbsoluteDogs.

The right training DOES WORK...
Stop feeding all your dog’s food in a bowl... Use it for training – Dogs prefer to work for their food so using it for training is a win win for you and dog!


GAME 1
Grab a small handful of your dog’s dry food ... (or you could use treats or small chopped pieces of raw veg like carrots or broccoli stems for this game)

  1. Lay the handful of food on the ground in-front of your dog... (let them see there is food there but keep your hand over it)

  2. The dog will likely sniff your hand or try to get the food from under it. KEEP the food covered.

  3. After a moment the dog will likely step back slightly to consider their next move

  4. As the dog steps back – flick a single piece of food from under your hand towards the dog.

  5. Dog will eat it and likely try to get food from under your hand again

  6. As they move back away from your hand again flick another piece of food to them

  7. Every time your dog moves in on the pile of food you cover it... every time the move away you reward.

  8. Dog soon learns it is MORE rewarding to wait and back off the food!!

You have just started to teach your dog the concept of self-control – You’re welcome!!
(NOTE: Some puppies may try harder to get the food and scratch at your hand covering the pile. If that’s the case hold an upturned plastic cup over the food instead of your hand.)
 
MYTH 2 I don’t have the time or skill to train my dog
Some methods like Clicker Training may require a certain amount of good timing skills – but that can be developed very quickly with a bit of practice! 


THE TRUTH: 
Training your dog to be a good companion can be as easy as playing a 3-minute game with your dog several times a day. Whilst waiting for the kettle to boil – play a game. Whilst preparing your dogs meal – play a game. Whilst waiting for a family member to put on their shoes – play a game. Training does not take a lot of time and it does not take skill. 

Remember you are using your dog’s daily food for training. So - How easy is this?...
GAME 2
Grab a big handful of dry dog food
Scatter the food all over the floor... and let your dog snuffle it out and hoover it up.
This takes no time (its quicker than putting the food in a bowl and lowering it to the dog!)
Scatter feeding teaches your dog to be more optimistic (dog learns that sometimes food rains down from heaven!) And scatter feeding is useful for teaching the dog not to jump up if used alongside an excitable puppy... (The value for the puppy is in keeping all 4 paws on the floor) The added bonus is that feeding from a scatter is actually quite calming for the dog’s brain as they snuffle out and find the pieces.
 

MYTH 3 My dog can’t be trained.
We do not believe that to be true of ANY dog. Sometimes it’s nice to give ourselves an excuse, “he’s too old... or too sick... or not food motivated ... or too young etc”

THE TRUTH:

If it feels like your dog cant be trained you just haven’t found a method that works for you and your dog yet!
Famous dog trainer Dr Ian Dunbar says that dog training is a combination of Good communication and Good motivation. (I don’t know if he means motivating the dog... but I think it applies to the owner too... Get motivated and you will find you can do ANYTHING!)
So if you are slumping with a whole new set of lockdown behaviours showing themselves in your beloved pooch... it’s time to get motivated!


Stop saying I will try to train this dog “one day”... Decide... Today is “day one” - Start today!


GAME 3

  1. Cup a piece of dog food or a nice treat in your hand

  2. Move your hand slowly in-front of your dog’s nose... move slowly so that your dog starts to follow your hand and after a few steps deliver the treat to the dogs mouth.

  3. Take another piece of food in your hand and lure dog a few extra steps and deliver

Now your dog is starting to follow food... this is called luring. You can use Luring to shape all sorts of behaviours that once learned give your dog something positive to do in the face of adversity!... Try teaching a twirl by luring your dog round in a circle slowly. Say the command and lure until the dog can do it on command. Dogs love these “tricks” but they are more than fun they give you something to ask of your dog if you see trouble ahead...
Dog’s focus is brought onto the game and working with you rather than the environment.

If you love these games for training… and want more heres the easiest way to get instant access to a WHOLE online course of games…

For a one off payment of £27 you can get lifetime access to a simple 30 day / 30 game course that will lead you from zero to hero in your dog’s eyes. (It was a 25 day / 25 game course but the wonderful folk at Absolute Dogs added a bonus 5 extra games to the course so it now works out to be less than £1 per training game.) Click here:
https://www.faithfulfriends.online/store/world-wide-sexier-than-a-squirrel-challenge

Here is a photo of me with the founders of AbsoluteDogs (the people who created the games we use at Faithful friends) I’m in the middle… on my left is Tom Mitchell, vet behaviourist and on my right is Lauren Langman with Blink (This partnership are 2020 Crufts Agility Champions!) Lauren trained Blink mostly with games (plus some agility practice and skills!) I’ve heard her talk about how games form the inner core of their agility success together.

There is NO LIMIT to what games can do! 

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Lydia Faithfull