Five Bad Behaviors I Reward My Dogs For

Good dog training involves not rewarding unwanted behaviors, right? This is what I thought for years, and when Brisbane and I were doing UKC obedience trials it was what I focused on. Each week we'd attend a practice with half a dozen other handlers. Between exercises, most of the other dogs would sit or lay quietly, casually keeping an eye on their handler. Mine had his nose glued to the ground and at times seemed completely oblivious to my presence. I would ask Brisbane to watch me, to sit or lay down, to stay, to STOP SNIFFING ALREADY! It was a nonstop parade of cues, treats, and then Briz resuming whatever it was he had been doing. I usually ran out of treats before the end of class, and he never got any better.

Photo by Erin Koski

Ten years later, Sisci and I are taking an agility class. With time and experience on my side, I'm taking the exact opposite approach and rewarding the behaviors I don't want. I've found this works incredibly well, both in group classes and in everyday life. By the end of any given class, Sisci is focused on me, tuning out the environment, and so relaxed she chooses to lay down and rest.

Here are five completely counterintuitive things I reward my dogs for:

1. Barking and growling at people. 

Sisci is unsure about most people, and her first response to someone breaching her comfort zone is to warn them away. Agility class is held inside a fenced field within a larger park, and there are lots of people in sight for her to worry about when she's not zooming through tunnels or sailing over 8" jumps (or sailing over tunnels when she's feeling particularly creative). Instead of asking her to look away from the scary people by asking for her attention, I mark and reward her staring and woofing. A few treats later, she is much more interested in playing this game than angsting about that rogue human on the sidewalk.

2. Freaking out at other dogs. 

As above, the only reason Sisci screams and snaps at other dogs is because she they make her nervous. Instead of asking her to look at me, I mark and reward her fixating on the other dog. Whether it's a passing dog in the park or a super-snappy border collie doing victory laps after a jump sequence, the anxiety-producing situation becomes a cue for cookies and a good reason to focus on me.

3. Pulling on leash. 

Photo by Erin Koski

Believe it or not, most dogs don't even seem aware that they are pulling on leash. They know they
want to go in a particular direction, and they know you sometimes get annoyed and stop, pull back, yank, or make them change directions. What they don't know is that leash tension is the specific trigger for these behaviors in their human. I like to use a clicker to mark leash tension, and then run backwards so the dog has to zoom back to me for their treat. It's a lot of fun to see a dog have a lightbulb moment when they suddenly realize that pulling is what causes this celebration. Most people think this should result in a dog that pulls like a freight train, but instead it creates a dog that is both acutely aware of leash tension and tuned in to the person on the other end. Once the dog knows how the game works, they understand how to investigate all the wonderful smells without hitting the end of the leash.

4. Pestering the cats. 

Actually, I try to mark and reward merely noticing the cats, before the dogs get really interested. Cats are weird, creepy little freaks. They make all sorts of funky noises, they move erratically and seemingly without direction or reason, yet they are clearly recognizable as sentient beings rather than furry jellyfish. We make our dogs live with the pet equivalent of schizophrenic hobos and expect them to mind their manners even when the other guy defies all social conventions. A whole lot of dogs learn to politely tolerate a range of bizarre cat behaviors without ever feeling truly at ease about the whole situation. To help my dogs relax when cats are being cats, I routinely reward them when someone is climbing the drapes, racing from room to room, or hissing in their face At first they get a cookie just for seeing a cat, or hearing cats thunder around the house.

5. Jumping up on people. 

This isn't the same for every dog, but I actually like to see Sisci jump up on people. She's quite leery of strangers, and right now it's only reasonable to expect her to exist in their vicinity. Ignoring them is fine, actual interaction is usually too much pressure. Very occasionally, while I'm casually conversing with someone, Sisci will cautiously stand up and put her front paws on them. This is the least-threatening way she has found to interact with a scary new person, and doesn't cause them to loom over her. So far she has only done this with some of my trainer friends, who totally understand what a big step it is. Brisbane can be an impolite greeter and sometimes wants to clobber people with his feet, but I'm happy to see Sisci attempt any greeting at all. We'll work on polite greeting when it happens more often.

Product Review: The Instant Trainer Dog Leash

The Instant Trainer Dog Leash is a leash designed to reduce pulling. It features a ring that allows it to wrap around the dog's waist, and has a rounded plastic handle for added grip. This is an "as seen on TV" product".

Photo by Erin Koski

There is an old dog handling trick that is affectionately known as "the leash trick". It's a way to get your over-excited dog from the car to the beach, park, or whatever awesome thing is just a short distance away. This is a tactic that is best used on a trained dog that normally knows how to walk nicely on a leash, in situations where they may forget their manners. "The leash trick" is just to leave the leash attached to the collar and then wrap it around the dog's waist. A knot is tied to keep the leash from tightening around the dog's unprotected abdominal organs, and the handler than holds onto the dog via the remaining length of the leash coming off this waist knot.

The Instant Trainer Dog Leash is clearly an attempt to capitalize on the old leash trick, but it fails in a number of ways.

Photo by Erin Koski

1. There is nothing stopping The Instant Trainer Dog Leash tightening up. If it stops the dog from pulling, great! If not, I'd worry about organ damage.

2. There is nothing stopping The Instant Trainer Dog Leash from loosening up. As soon as the leash goes slack, the loop around the dog's waist goes slack. It can slide back around their back lacks, get peed on by boy dogs, and if it gets loose enough the dog can even step through it.

3. There is nothing between the hardware and the dog. The bit where the leash slides through the ring is is right in contact with the dog's back. Brisbane lost a bit of fur just taking these pictures, and he doesn't even pull on the leash!

4. The ring isn't welded. Let me say that again. The ring isn't welded. Not an issue if the sensation of the leash tightening around their abdomen doesn't bother the dog, but an obvious point of failure for any dog that pulls despite it.

Pros: This leash actually does work for some people and some dogs. It's an inexpensive product and the effect should be instant, so dog owners should know right away to stop using it. I believe it can also be used with the leash looped around the dog's ribcage, like the ThunderLeash. This would be safer for the dog, but may also put too much pressure on that unwelded ring.

Cons: This is a poorly made product, and there are tons of reports of both the ring and the snap breaking. If the dog fails to stop pulling immediately, they can injure themselves. Using this leash requires constant vigilance from the handler to keep it taut enough to stay in play, yet loose enough to be comfortable.

Bottom Line: The same effect can be accomplished safely and more effectively with a regular six-foot leash. I am confident I could create a better product with a sturdy nylon leash and a climbing carbiner.

Painless and Fun Loose Leash Walking

I started teaching Brisbane to walk nicely on a leash when he was a baby puppy. This was easy because he had never had the chance to develop a habit of pulling. Walking with a loose leash is healthier for both of us, it saves his neck and throat along with my arms, shoulders, and back. When he is excited, Briz still needs to be reminded that he knows how to walk nicely. He is also clever enough to test whether the person holding his leash knows that he knows how to walk without pulling. Brisbane will pull like a sled dog if he thinks he can get away with it.

I feel that the trick to loose leash walking is to teach something other than "Don't pull." Teaching a dog to do something is a lot easier than teaching him to not do something. It's not unlike the way it is easier to think about purple cows than it is to not think about purple cows.

I've also taught several foster dogs how to walk nicely on leash, and the first step is, of course, don't let him do that. I think that teaching loose leash walking is more important than going for a walk, so for a few days that is all I am going to try to accomplish. It doesn't matter how far we get, or if we even make it out the front door.

I like clicker training dogs to walk on leash because clicker training makes pretty much everything easier. Whether I am using a clicker or not, I want a tight leash to be a signal to the dog. Every time the dog hits the end of the leash, I want him to be aware.

For dogs that have a long-standing habit of pulling on leash, I might need to use a tool like a head halter, a no-pull harness of some sort, or even a prong collar. For a dog that is very used to pulling on a flat collar or a choke chain, I like to use a harness. A body harness can encourage a dog to pull by taking the pressure off his neck and distributing it across his chest. However, a dog that is unused to wearing a harness will be unfamiliar with this sensation, and for a brief time I will have the opportunity to teach him that it means something. Different dogs respond differently to the various no-pull tools, the key is to find something the dog will pay attention to without fighting or feeling distressed. The plan is to wean him off of this cue as soon as possible.

Once I've got the dog fitted with the right collar or harness, it's time to start training. For some, this begins in the livingroom or the yard because outside on the sidewalk is just too exciting. I start moving and encourage the dog to come along, and then as soon as he hits the end of the leash he gets a click or a 'yes!' or a 'whee!' as I run backward while offering a treat. He very quickly learns that hitting the end of the leash means he should turn around because I am about to become very exciting while handing out food.

This training will continue for several days, moving from indoors to the yard and finally the sidewalk or park. We often don't make it more than a few feet from the driveway, and the dog might eat his entire dinner, one kibble at a time, as rewards for running back when he hits the end of the leash. Going for a walk can be very exciting, sometimes too exciting for the dog to monitor his own behavior. The trick is to get him very solid on this leash-pressure-means-check-human concept before moving to a more exciting environment.

When I can dedicate several days to cueing and rewarding the dog every single time he hits the end of the leash, the payoff is a dog that is sensitive to leash pressure and constantly aware of me. It seems like getting rewarded for hitting the end of the leash would cause a dog to pull more, but it has the opposite effect. I can quickly reduce the excitement and reward for hitting the end of the leash, and still have a dog that slows down and looks back insead of pulling ahead.