Competitive Obedience Training for the Small Dog Read online

  Stays are introduced first. When the dog is comfortable with the concept of the Stays, Heeling is introduced. When the dog is comfortable with the concept of Heeling, the Recall, Fronts, Finishes, and Go Out are introduced, and so on. You do not wait until something is “finished” or “perfect” before starting something else.

  Think training through from your dog’s point of view.

  While it is important to set goals, it is equally important to avoid setting deadlines. Deadlines (the kind that say, “My dog will be ready to show in Novice at the National Specialty in June”) do not allow you to tailor the training to fit your dog. Deadlines require certain routines to be perfected in a certain length of time. That means pressure, as the dog becomes merely a means to an end. When the dog is ready, he’s ready. Don’t set a predetermined date on it.

  Admittedly, it’s more work to develop your own training program than to just go along with tradition. You have to think and plan and understand how the things you are teaching the dog are going to come together as a formal exercise. Unless you have a phenomenal memory, this also means you are going to have to keep a training log to break down, plan and record the sequence of steps you are using, noting beside each step how the training did or did not progress.

  It is also wise to overlap the steps in training. If you finished work on the Sit Stay on Monday three feet away from the dog for one minute, don’t go out on Tuesday and start on the Sit Stay six feet away for two minutes. Repeat the last step at which the dog was successful, then move on in the sequence. If the dog starts to have trouble at some point, work back down the sequence until you reach the step at which the dog succeeds. Stay at that step for a couple of training sessions, then start moving forward again. Don’t hesitate to experiment or change the sequence; you are tailoring a training plan to your dog. The plan is based on behavior modification and shaping, and you are the only one qualified to tell if your dog is “evolving” according to plan. Training every day, even if it’s just for a few minutes, will yield results more quickly than mega-training sessions two or three times a week.

  Before you begin any practice session, know what you are going to teach, how you are going to teach it, and the level of proficiency you want your dog to achieve. When your dog reaches that level at that session, quit or move on to something else. Don’t be tempted to keep practicing over and over again something the dog has done correctly because the dog will start to make mistakes. These mistakes will have to be dealt with, and the dog’s best and correct response will be forgotten in his errors.

  ZEN IN THE ART OF OBEDIENCE

  You can refer to any one of dozens of obedience books for help in training. Or if you’re reluctant to take secondhand advice, go straight to the source: books on animal behavior and on human behavior modification. Obedience training is still fairly uncharted land. Anything that helps you learn and develop your own ideas and methods is dog training at its best.

  You’ve undoubtedly heard the old maxim: “Don’t change methods or you’ll mess up the dog.” If “methods” means using different approaches to teach something, the maxim is nonsense. Use as many methods as you can concoct. However, if “methods” means “philosophies,” then the old maxim is true: Changing a training philosophy is courting disaster. You can’t be sweetness and light and chicken tidbits one day, and choke collar corrections and sharp commands the next. Your dog will do more than mess up. He’ll quit.

  There are really only two basic paths to follow in dog training: compulsion or inducement. To be successful, a compulsive trainer has to have a dog that can “take it,” a dog that can be pattern-trained and punished with corrections if he varies from the pattern. Compulsive training is employed in most Beginner and Novice obedience classes because it is easy for instructors to teach and handlers to use. It is also well suited for group instruction because it is based on a common denominator: a dog’s desire to avoid pain.

  At the other end of the spectrum is the trainer who uses purely inducive techniques, such as those employed in training marine animals for shows. This requires a trainer with perfect timing and understanding of the conditioning process. With dogs, training that is 100% inducive can be tedious and time-consuming.

  Most dog trainers who consider themselves inducive actually use a combination of inducive and compulsive training, in a methodology that encourages thinking, reasoning and decisionmaking by both dog and handler. Training is a matter of communication. The dog is put in situations which help him respond correctly. Correct responses are positively reinforced and incorrect responses are intercepted with an attention getter – usually a verbal “Ahh!” – and immediately redirected. It is this combination of inducive and compulsive training that is utilized throughout this book.

  For inducement, use any positive primary reinforcement that turns the dog on; for most dogs this would be food. (Needless to say, for food to be motivating, the dog has to be hungry!) Food is always coupled with praise, the secondary reinforcement. When the dog is being taught something new, he receives a food treat with praise every time he performs correctly, until the behavior is completely conditioned. When he knows what is expected of him, only the improved responses, such as faster or straighter, are rewarded. In this way the dog’s behavior is shaped to closer and closer approximations of the ideal. The use of food is not a bribe. It is not cheating. It is making use of the simple fact that the quickest way to a dog’s brain is through his stomach!

  All learning is stressful, and stress limits a dog’s ability to concentrate and respond appropriately. The less stress introduced in training, the more readily the dog will learn. The correct combination of inducive and compulsive training reduces stress because it clearly contrasts the desired action with the undesired. The dog is rewarded for a correct response and corrected only for deliberate disobedience. The dog is not afraid to learn, not afraid to make a mistake, and not afraid of the collar, the leash, or you.

  LEARNING ODDITIES

  When a dog is learning a new exercise, three interesting phenomena will likely occur: plateauing, latent learning, and total forgetting.

  Plateauing occurs when a dog gets stuck at some point in the learning process. For no discernible reason, he just stops making progress in whatever he had been learning and is incapable of improving or learning more. He is stuck, usually for several days. There is nothing you can do to help your dog across the plateau, so don’t hassle him with corrections. Be patient and he will soon be learning again in leaps and bounds.

  In latent learning, the dog somehow, in his own mind and without additional practice, figures out what you want him to do. Latent learning is a gift from the obedience gods.

  Let’s say you have been working on the fast pace in heeling, and your dog just isn’t “getting it.” You have tried everything you have ever heard or read, but your dog still won’t willingly break into a run. In frustration and despair, you quit working on it for several days. Then the next time you try it, the dog does it perfectly. He acts like he has been running in heel position all his life! That is latent learning. Do use it to your advantage; if you have been working really hard on something and your dog still doesn’t understand, try giving up on it for awhile. It sure beats plugging away or losing your patience and creating a bigger problem than you had when you started.

  Do not use latent learning as an excuse for inconsistent training. You have to put in the time and effort to teach the dog something before you can expect him to work out a problem in his own mind and on his own time.

  The Canine Learning “Curve”

  Total forgetting is the oddest training phenomena of all. The dog seems to understand the exercise; he is doing it fine, then suddenly it’s gone. Completely gone. He has never seen a broad jump before in his life. He has no idea what you mean when you say “Take It.” “Stay” is a new word in the Open dog’s vocabulary. Total forgetting happens in every part of everything you teach your dog.

  A savvy trainer doesn’t really bel
ieve his dog knows an exercise until the dog has completely forgotten it and then relearned it. There are a lot of theories on why dogs forget. The most popular is that a “set of information,” while in transit from short term to long term memory, cannot be recalled. It’s as good a theory as any, because no one really knows. What we do know is that when your dog blanks out on something you thought he knew, he will relearn it in a fraction of the time it took him to learn it in the first place. What you must not do is mess with the dog’s attitude by correcting him for a mental lapse. It’s normal and you want it to happen; the dog doesn’t really “have it” until he has learned it, forgotten it, and then learned it again. Everyone who has ever trained a dog has seen total forgetting but might not have recognized it for what it was. They might have thought their dog was stupid or stubborn. If they had just been patient, they would have discovered that their dog was neither because total forgetting is totally normal.

  TRAINING TIERS

  Teaching and training should be tiered. Exercises are taught on tier one: a familiar place without distractions. Exercises are trained on tier two: a familiar place with distractions and/or an unfamiliar place without distractions. Training for perfection and proofing are on tier three: an unfamiliar place with distractions.

  The typical obedience class is not the best place to introduce your dog to something new! Ideally, a new behavior is best taught at home without distractions. When the dog is consistently performing the new behavior at home, you can escalate your training; good tier two sites include church parking lots on weekdays and school and office parking lots on weekends.

  On tier three, your most common distractions will be other people. Nothing draws a crowd like a dog “doing tricks”! When people stop to watch and ask questions, answer them politely and then solicit their help. Ask someone to examine your dog on the stand, for example, or be a post for the Figure Eight, or scent your articles. Remember that you may be the only obedience competitor your “distractions” will ever see, so be sure both you and your dog are good representatives for our sport.

  Years ago, folks used to say dog training was made up of the Three P’s: Practice, Perseverance and Perspiration. There are still Three P’s today, but they stand for three different things: Preparation, Patience and Perfection. Obedience training truly is a thinking person’s – and dog’s – sport.

  “If you understand that progress is made in small increments, you will be satisfied with anything that is ‘a little bit better.’ Your horse will not go from lousy to perfect or from stiff to supple. He will get a little less lousy and a lot less lousy until he eventually becomes a little bit better, then a lot better. You’re only setting yourself up for frustration if you evaluate your training sessions in terms of black and white. There are many shades of gray.”

  Jane Savoie

  THAT WINNING FEELING!

  Chapter 4

  EQUIPMENT

  Sometimes it is better not to know how involved you are going to become, how many material things you are going to amass, or how much time and money you are going to spend when you first develop an interest in something. I’ve got a collar and leash, you say, what else do I need to train a dog?

  Ah, how sweetly naive! To train through Utility, you will have to have:

  A BUCKLE COLLAR

  A collar is simply a training tool, and each of the four collars mentioned here – buckle, chain choke, fabric choke and prong – might be used at different times for different reasons with different dogs.

  The directions in this book are given with the assumption that the dog will be trained on a buckle collar. For a perfect fit, buy a woven nylon collar with a buckle that makes its own hole each time it is put on the dog.

  The dog should wear a different buckle collar when he is not being trained, one with an identification tag bearing your name, address and phone number.

  CHAIN CHOKE COLLAR

  If you do opt for occasional use of a choke collar, do not use it with the traditional and hearty “jerk and release” correction. The choke collar shouldn’t physically put your dog into position; it should simply remind him of where he should be putting himself. Use this collar on the live ring with delicacy and finesse only for refining heeling; at all other times the choke collar is kept on the dead ring.

  Tightly linked chain collars in one-half inch increments from 8 inches to 12 inches and one-inch increments from 12 inches and up can be ordered from Paul’s Obedience Shop. (See Appendix.)

  Chain collar on the dead ring

  Chain collar on the live ring

  FABRIC CHOKE COLLAR

  An alternative to the chain is a fabric choke collar. For a good fit, try the “snap choke,” which can be fastened around the dog’s neck and doesn’t have to go over his head.

  Snap choke collar

  PRONG COLLAR

  There are only two candidates for the prong collar: 1) dogs with no necks, whose heads seem to sit squarely on their shoulders (you know who you are!) and 2) dogs who would benefit from a choke collar but have weak tracheas.

  Many small dogs have tracheas so fragile that any sudden pressure on their throats will cause trachea spasms, or “reverse sneezing,” as they gasp for air. (Cupping your palm over the dog’s nose, forcing him to breathe through his mouth, can stop the spasm.) A dog with a weak trachea cannot wear a choke collar of any kind.

  The micro prong, available from Sylvia’s Tack Box (see Appendix), is the only prong appropriate for a small dog. Even though the metal used in this petite collar is about as heavy as the metal in a big paper clip, its use should be approached with caution and thoughtfulness. Remember that prong collars and snap choke collars cannot be worn in the obedience ring; they can only be used in training.

  Prong (shown actual size) from a micro prong collar

  SIX FOOT LEASH

  A six foot by one-fourth inch or three-eighth inch leather or nylon leash will see you through all your training. The leash should have a bolt snap; the lightweight lanyard hooks often used on thin leashes make it too easy for you to keep the leash taut and the dog “strung up” without realizing it. Lanyard hooks can also open under pressure and then snap closed again on the dog’s face.

  A leash with a bolt snap this small (shown actual size) can be purchased from Paul’s or Sylvia’s. Don’t use a lanyard hook.

  A bolt snap will hang down from a collar with its own weight and stay in place behind the dog’s ear; a lanyard hook will not. A leash that swings in front of the ear will hit the dog in the face with every step, which is a quick way to teach your dog to lag!

  OBEDIENCE REGULATIONS

  Single copies of the AKC OBEDIENCE REGULATIONS are available for one dollar for postage and handling from AKC’s processing center. Address your request to: The American Kennel Club, 5580 Centerview Drive, Raleigh, North Carolina, 27606. Read this booklet cover to cover, then read and reread it again. You can’t play the game if you don’t know the rules!

  Use the AKC OBEDIENCE REGULATIONS to discover things you can legitimately do to help a small dog, such as “…in the Directed Retrieve exercise the body and knees may be bent to the extent necessary to give the direction…” (Chapter 2, Section 20.)

  You also need to know what you cannot do. For example, “There shall be a substantial penalty for any dog that is picked up or carried at any time in the obedience ring…” (Chapter 2, Section 22.)

  The first sentence in the “Agreement” printed on the back of every “Official American Kennel Club Entry Form” is “I acknowledge that…the ‘Obedience Regulations’ have been made available to me, and that I am familiar with their contents.” Every time you sign an entry you are swearing to this fact.

  RETRACTABLE LEASH OR 20-FOOT LONG LINE

  A retractable “Flexi” leash is great for distance control and can be used in every level of training. If you prefer, you can make your own inexpensive long line; lightweight cord and bolt snaps can be found at any hardware store.

  HEELING DO
WEL

  A three-foot long by three-eighth inch (or smaller) diameter wooden dowel is used in heeling to help the dog learn to stay close and to keep his back half in line with his front half.

  BOARDS, DOWELS, LENGTHS OF PVC PIPE, YARDSTICKS AND FOLDING RULERS

  It takes a lot of stuff to teach straight fronts and finishes! For fronts you will need 2 three-foot long pieces of PVC rain gutter, or a couple of 24-inch long wooden boards. Eventually these can be cut in half or replaced with rulers, which will also be used for the finish. For polishing and reminders, you will need 2 one-fourth inch by 10-inch dowels. A yardstick and folding ruler are also used to teach the dog to accept measurement in the Open and Utility rings.

  TREATS

  “People food,” such as chicken, liver or cheese, is usually a bigger hit with dogs than commercial dog treats. Experiment. Your dog will let you know when you’ve found one that really turns him on.

  A treat is not a meal, it’s a lure and a motivator. Even though it is given in tiny smidgens, it should still be nutritious. It won’t take much to fill up your dog, and you certainly don’t want to fill him up with junk food. Your treat should be something moist so the dog doesn’t have to stop and chew or, if he accidentally swallows the treat whole, he won’t choke. It shouldn’t be crumbly; you don’t want to leave pieces all over the ground. It also shouldn’t be greasy. Not only is that hard on your dog’s tummy, but when you store the treats in your pocket, it’s hard on your clothes.

  Not required or even recommended: bait bags or pouches. No point in advertising to your dog when you do or don’t have the goods!

  HIGH, BAR AND BROAD JUMP

  Jumps can be homemade (plans can be found in the back of the AKC OBEDIENCE REGULATIONS) or ordered through obedience supply catalogs. If you have access to five-foot wide jumps for occasional practice, get the more easily portable and less expensive three or four-foot wide jumps for yourself.