Kathie is a very, very exuberant dog. She loves everything and wants to be a part of everything all at once! The other day, I stepped out of the office while she was on the tie down to get something from the kitchen. When I came back (about 30 seconds later), she began dancing and leaping with joy. While I certainly appreciate knowing that she loves me so much, this is not a behavior that I want to encourage. So I implemented a training mechanism to combat it.
For many years, I have taught my dogs to remain at rest until I release them to play. Similarly, I teach them not to go with other people unless given a command to do so. Ideally, these commands work in tandem to keep my dogs under control in a variety of situations. I am, of course, still discovering situations in which they need to be refined: a room full of dogs playing roughly can entice her to run away whether I give the “go play” command or not, and a person whom my dog loves just too much can cajole her to go whether I give the command or not. Kathie may be especially susceptible to these temptations given her zest for all things fun. In the advanced stages of training, we will incorporate measures to ensure that she is not lured away. But the training begins with teaching her to be patient and quiet.
I took her into the office and did a round of “doggie push-ups” (sit-down, sit-down, sit-down). When she was doing them without error, I gave her a final down command and then told her to rest (Seeing Eye-ese for “stay”. Obedience off leash is very important to me–there are times when I will need her to be able to remain at rest while I do things across the room or even around the corner.
Once Kathie was at rest, I walked around the corner and into the kitchen, giving her rest reminders as I got farther away. She got up and followed me. I went back and put her at rest and repeated the procedure. We went through these motions several times, and each time she stayed at rest a little longer. I gave her no praise if she got up before I came back all the way to her. At one point, she stayed down the whole time but got up as I touched her. She got no praise.
She finally got her praise when she stayed down the entire time, including the time when I was touching her. When I released her after praising her, I told her, “go play,” in a friendly voice, though not too excited. My own excitement feeds hers. She did not leap or prance in response but did wag her tail a bit. This is appropriate behavior.
The outcome of this has been very intriguing. This morning, I let her out of her crate and did not immediately put her on leash. She ran around the house quite a bit. She made one attempt to snatch some cat food, and I caught her in the act. She left the cat box alone. When it was time for me to have breakfast, she followed me to the table and put herself in a down-stay beside my chair as if she had figured out our routine.
After breakfast, we took a trip to Petsmart to buy some dog food. Petsmart was quite a distraction factory. While standing in the dog food aisle, I asked her to sit; and I spent some time talking with the dog food rep. A trainer was standing at the other end of the store, clapping his hands and calling, “PUPPYYYYYYY!!!” while another person attempted to distract the puppy on its journey across the store toward the trainer. I’m not sure whether Kathie was a good distraction for the puppy or the puppy was a good distraction for Kathie as the puppy walked right past her. In any case, there Kathie was, in the dog food aisle with the puppy sniffing her, and she was required to sit and rest.
She did it. But no one was more glad to get out of Petsmart than I.
- Learning From My Younger Self - February 10, 2024
- more reflections on ITD - June 30, 2023
- On travel while at ITD: reflections after day 1 - June 27, 2023
- ITD day 1 - June 27, 2023
- ITD day 1 - June 27, 2023
- Job Descriptions, Inclusivity, and Equity for People with Disabilities - October 15, 2022
- Traveling without a Guide Dog: Experience with Cane and Walker - October 14, 2022
- Disability and Church, Intersection - June 11, 2022
- Review: When Chronic Pain and Illness Take Everything Away - June 11, 2022
- Grammar and Style Resources for Writers - June 9, 2022
Good job Sarah! It can be kind of rough at the beginning you’re doing great!