Kay9 Puppy Life Skills - Homework 

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SIT: As soon as the pups bottom hits the floor, say sit and release the treat. 

STAND: Place the treat on the dogs nose and bring slowly forward. Say Stand as soon as the back legs have straightened out, but do NOT allow the pup to take any steps with the front paws. Hold the treat hand absolutely still. 

DOWN: As soon as the pups chest hits the floor, say Down and release the treat. 

 

‘Mark and Reward’ is a system for training dogs without force. 

 

‘Mark and Reward’ is a system for training dogs without force. It is especially useful for training puppies.  

If you are familiar with clicker training, it is the principle behind ‘Click and Treat’. However, it is entirely possible to mark and reward your puppy without using a clicker, but using a verbal marker instead, such as 'Good' or 'Yes'. 

 

This is all about the power of communication. You are letting your dog know exactly what he did right at the exact moment when he did it. An event mark is always followed by some kind of reward. When an exercise asks you to ‘reward’ your dog, you should provide the dog with reinforcement for his behaviour. 

 

This could be a food reward, a toy, or access to a desirable location such as release from a crate, or being let out into the garden. If your dog loves to be petted, it could also be praise or attention.  

What matters is that you provide an experience that is valuable to the dog. 

It is very important that you learn how to help your puppy cope with things that may frighten them. If you notice your puppy showing any signs of fear, instantly either get out your treats and start pairing up the scary thing with food, or if you do not have food available, use your calming voice and gently stroke the puppy to sooth it and help it cope as well as bring it out of that initial fear freeze. 

 

The degree of startle response depends on breed and early Socialisation. Dogs whose genetic heritage has programmed them to be alert and focused will often have an more pronounced fear period. Protection breeds (Shepherds, Rotties, Dobies) and herding breeds (collies, Cattle-dogs, etc) will need increased positive socialisation during adolescence. It's almost like one day they can see better at a distance! Suddenly they are noticing the neighbour across the street as he gets out of his car. Their alarm starts with a suspicious "woof - woof" followed by "woorrrrrooooooooo-roooo-rooo" going up in pitch. If this behaviour is allowed to be practiced, their confidence in "scaring away the postman" (he was leaving anyway) or neighbourhood children will increase. You don't want them to become experts in scaring the neighbourhood. Continue positive socialisation and training! Kay9 Services have excellent socialisation sessions each month (see website calendar for dates and times) 

 

Between 6 & 18 months your dog is an adolescent - becoming an adult. Living in an adult body with a puppy brain! Your dog experiences emerging territoriality and responsibility, combined with conflicting feelings of puppy insecurity. Sometimes it looks like Jekyll & Hyde. While some breeds are naturally more vocal than others, the problem is magnified in dogs with limited socialisation. Anti-social dogs become more anti-social. Frightened dogs DO bite if cornered. If they find out that lunging and barking will make the scary thing go away, they will add it to their series of learned behaviours that work. Control the environment so they don't feel they have to defend themselves. Do not encourage "watch dog" behaviour at this age. You are rewarding fear and suspicion not bravery and confidence. 

 

The more timid or unsure the dog feels, the more noise he makes. Young adolescent dogs pushed beyond their safety threshold frequently lunge and bark with hackles (the ridge of hair down the dog's shoulders and spine) raised. The more hackles, the more fearful the dog actually feels. This behaviour is designed to create distance between them and the scary thing. Small breeds often bark more than their larger cousins - what they lack in size, they make up for in attitude and volume! Confident dogs make very little noise. Socialisation is the key. 

 

The good news is they can grow out of it - with your support and guidance. It is important to continue to expose them to lots of new things. It may be easier to leave them home rather than take them on walks where a meltdown happens every street or so, but it's imperative to get them out in the world and carefully continue their socialisation through gentle exposure to new things. 

When the door bell rings in most households, the whole family usually erupts into a frenzied bout of shouting out 'Ill get it' and rush towards the from tdooretc. This is when most dogs learn to instantly react to the door bell, running to the door, barking etc, Try to remain calm as soon as the door bell rings, to avoid it becoming a trigger to reactive door behaviours. The whole family should stop what they're doing and stand still. Start to count in your head, for 5 seconds and then calmly get up and go to the door quietly. Now the dog learns that it is a quiet activity, not one to get excited about. 

Puppies have very sharp teeth, so it is advisable to teach food manners as quickly as possible. Hold a treat in your hand and when the dogs moves towards the treat, close your hand making a fist. Do not move the hand out of position, keep it still, just closed. As the puppy moves away from the fist, open the hand and take the treat forward towards the puppy and give the treat to the puppy. Stay silent at this point and repeat. We will move forward on this exercise next week. 

 

If you feed your dog, whilst you or others are eating, expect your dog to learn to beg. Begging usually gets worse over time and you’ll end up with a dog who isn't’t just sitting and watching you with big eyes, but he’ll start nudging hands and arms for food, barking, whining, and even jumping up on people, chairs or even the table. Begging never gets better on its own and always escalates; so shouldn't be encouraged from the onset. 

 

This means the dog isn't’t to be fed from the table or your plate by ANY member of the family. If you have some food you’d like to share, wait until you are done eating, walk away from where you were eating and have your dog do something for those bits of food. He can sit, lie down, or do some tricks. 

 

When I have a puppy or a newly adopted dog I put him in his crate in the living room so he’s not isolated but yet also not too close to where people eat. After beginning the puppy’s training, then I have him stay on a dog bed in that same location while we eat and I give him a Kong so that he has something to do other than watch other people eat!. If he decides to join us, I take him back to his spot. He’s never rewarded when he comes to the table. Giving the puppy a Kong whilst you are eating with help them to cope with staying in their designated place whilst you are eating. This can be wuite a difficult time for a dog, when the room is filled with the smell of food! 

Everyone has a right to say no. Therefore it is good for your relationship building with your puppy to ask consent, to ask the puppy 'would you like to be touched'? To do this, simply offer the back of your hand towards the side of the puppy, about a foot away. If the puppy moves towards the hand and starts to interact with it (rubbing itself on it or licking it) that is a clear yes! If puppy doesn't approach the hand or backs away from it, that's a clear No! Puppy should not be touched at all if the answer was no, Otherwise he learns not to trust you because you don't keep to your word! 

Puppies like to put things in their mouth, even things they shouldn't! So it is wise to teach a command for them to learn to drop things from their mouth quickly without conflict. So we teach the puppy that 'Drop' means something exciting is about to happen on the floor, next to our finger!  

 

Place a piece of food on the floor and put your finger on the floor next to it. When the puppy arrives to eat the treat, say 'Drop' and repeat, always putting a treat in a different position each time. After about 10 trials, put your finger to the floor, then once the puppy arrives, the treat and say 'Drop'. 

It is important to always remember to keep the distance you move away from the dog very short and also the duration you are away from the dog very short, to begin with. We can build on this at a later date, but only if we keep things short and simple to start with. 

 

The hand signal for Stay, is a flat hand, closed fingers together and palm facing the dog. Ask the dog to sit and immediately, hide the hand holding the treats behind the Stay hand signal and rock backwards quickly, returning before the dog moves out of position and treat the dog. 

 

Now repeat, rocking to the left, return and treat the dog. Now repeat rocking to the right and return to treat the dog. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now that you have been practicing stay for a few weeks, your pup should now be at the stage where you can stay away from them for slightly longer, although we are not yet ready to GO away further just yet,so don't be tempted! As with week 2, use your hand signal and step away from the dog to the end of the lead distance and hide your food hand behind your stay hand signal. Do this for 2 seconds, return and feed then go straight into the next stay for 4 seconds and repeat until you can get up to 8 seconds. 

 

Self control doesn’t come naturally to dogs. We need to teach them how to wait politely. One of the first things I teach dogs that come through our house is to wait nicely. Wait for me to put their food bowl down, wait to go out the door, wait to jump into the car, wait to exit their crate, wait at a curb. 

 

It is important to teach your puppy that grooming is enjoyable, especially if you plan to use a professional groomer. Introducing grooming in a positive way allows the pup to build a nice association with brushes, combs, clippers, nail trimmers and the handling that is associated with the grooming process or being handles at the vets etc. 

 

Once they are happily touching your hand, start touching the pup’s body, firstly under the chin, then around the collar, shoulders, and back. Take another week to do this. Touch, say YES! (or click) as you do it, give a treat and remove the hand. Do this quietly and gently. 

 

If pup starts to bite or gets scared, you have gone too fast and need to backtrack to earlier steps. If the puppy is comfortable with these steps, move on to touching (but not holding) areas dogs are not so comfortable having touched. These may include the face, top of their head, feet, bottom, and tail. It is important that these early steps are done slowly as they are formative stages for the rest of the process. 

Living with and loving a dog you cannot touch, cuddle, or hug is just about as silly as living with and loving a person you cannot hug. It is also potentially dangerous. Even so, veterinarians and groomers will tell you that hard-to-handle dogs are extremely common. Indeed, many dogs are extremely stressed when restrained and/or examined by strangers. There are few physical differences between hugging and restraint, or between handling and examination. The difference depends on your puppy’s perspective. Generally, puppies feel they are hugged and handled by friends, but restrained and examined by strangers. 

 

As with the Socialisation exercises, adult family members need to accustom the pup to enjoy being handled and gently restrained first. Then your puppy knows and enjoys the handling game before strangers and children become involved.  

 

Pick up your pup, put him on your lap and hook one finger around his collar so that he doesn’t jump off. Slowly, gently and repetitively stroke the pup from the back of his neck and back in an attempt to get him to settle down in any position he finds comfortable. If your pup is a bit squirmy, soothingly massage his chest or the base of his ears. Massage his belly by making a repetitive circular motion with the palm of your hand. Gently rubbing the pup’s inguinal area (where the inside of the thigh joins the abdomen) will also help the puppy relax. While your puppy is calm and relaxed, periodically pick him up to give him a short hug etc., Gradually and progressively increase the length of the hugs (restraint). After a while, pass the puppy to someone else and have them repeat the above exercises. 

 

If it is clear that your puppy is not comfortable with the above, given them a Kong to 'suckle/lick' on, to help them relax and enjoy the session. You could also give them treats for being still and calm. 

 

In class we practice grooming and inspection with the use of a Kong. The rules are: 

 

 

This teaches the puppy that he can control something, if it is uncomfortable or for some reason it concerns him, giving him empowerment. Trust has to be earned in a dog. It is like a bank account. If you don't pay in enough trust for the things you want to do to and with your dog, you will go over drawn and then the dog will not trust you. 

PART ONE:  

Sit on a chair with your puppy in front of you. Now have a treat in one hand and rest the hand on your knee (calf height if you have a tiny breed of puppy)!  

 

When the puppy comes towards the hand, close the hand, but keep it in the same position. Your puppy may lick etc to try to get the treat, but don't move your hand (unless puppy is biting hard. Then you should keep the hand out of reach of the puppy, but still reward when puppy stops trying to jump up to the hand etc). Don't move the hand at all when the puppy is trying to get at the treat, just keep your hand closed. at all.  

 

When the hand closes, eventually, your puppy will back off. At this exact point, take the open hand towards the puppy and say 'Take it'. Repeat a few more times. 

 

Now that your puppy is staying away from the hand/or moving away as soon as he hand closes, you're ready for Part 2! Repeat part one, but when the puppy moves away, keep the hand in the same position, but open the hand. IF the puppy comes towards it, keep the hand in the same position, but close the hand. When puppy backs off, take hand to him and say 'Take it'. Repeat. Eventually, you'll be able to have an open hand and the puppy will stay away from the food, until you say take it and take the hand to the puppy. 

Stand still and have a good handful of treats ready. If the lead is tight, put your hand down to your knee and let the dog come in and eat the treat. Take one step away fro the puppy. If the lead stays loose (even if the puppy didn't follow you), treat to the knee and let the dog come in and eat it. Puppy learns that good things happen close to you and that a loose lead always pays dividends. But! If the lead goes tight put your hand down to you knee with a treat in it and wait for the puppy to come in to eat it. Repeat as necessary, 

 

When the lead goes tight, stand still and wait for either the lead to loosen, the pup to turn/look at you. Be ready with a treat to reward this! The treat should be held at 'mouth height' to your dog, so that when they turn around, they will see your hand and come straight in onto a loose lead for the treat. Encourage loose lead walking! 

STAY 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The hand signal for a stay is a flat hand with the palm facing the dog. A bit like an old fashioned Police man would say 'Stop'! 

 

Ask your puppy to sit and reward it immediately and immediately after, hide your treat holding hand, behind the stay flat hand and very quickly rock back and immediately forth and treat the puppy. Do this a few more times and then say Stay before you start to rock away. If the puppy gets up from a sit, wait for them to sit back down and reward that. Then go straight into a stay again, saying the cue and immediately rocking back and forth to the dog and reward. 

 

Repeat this going backwards away from the dog, as well as rocking to your left and returning to reward the dog and then rocking to your right and returning to reward the dog. 

This is such a fun game to play and puppies absolutely love it! 

 

The treat is the mouse and if the puppy comes toward the mouse, the mouse hides in his hole (under your hand). Wait for the moment the puppy stops trying to get at the mouse from under your hand and when he does, move your hand to the side of the mouse and slide the mouse away fro you, towards the puppy. Now that the mouse has 'run' the puppy can chase it and eat it! 

 

Repeat this and soon your puppy will start to stay away from the hand, waiting for the mouse to run. Now have fun with it and pretend to flick the mouse in all directions, so tat your puppy is now learning to manage and control himself (control the urge to come towards the mouse before it has begun to run).  

 

Self control exercises are fantastic learning for puppies, as much in life isn't freely available unless we can learn to control ourselves, especially in the presence of running mice! 

 

At home, you may choose to feed your puppy by playing Mousey, Mousey. This will be a fun activity, food enrichment and will also tire your puppy out, so they wont need a walk for quite some time after! 

Regardless of the size of the dog or type of coat your puppy has, grooming your pet goes farther than just brushing or combing. Good grooming habits allow you to perform such routine procedures as trimming nails or cleaning ears as well as brushing the coat. Forming good routines early on helps you thoroughly examine your pet for any underlying issues as he gets older. This is especially important when it comes to your puppy’s cooperation and comfort during a visit to the groomer or the vet. 

 

Puppies are very impressionable in the first few months of their lives. They respond well to positive reinforcement. Socialization is a very important part of this training, as they may be handled by different people during the grooming process. I like to expose my puppies to as many different people and situations as possible at a young age. It is not recommended to bring puppies to highly populated dog areas until they have had their final vaccinations, but that should not stop you from allowing your puppy to socialize with people and places. Taking your puppy for rides in the car and into businesses that allow dogs are just a couple of the ways I get my puppies used to being greeted and handled by different people in different places. 

 

Conditioning a puppy to accept handling and grooming is also an important part of the bonding process. Gain your puppy’s confidence and build his respect for you as a leader by gently holding his paws, looking between his toes, examining inside and behind his ears, checking his eyes and inspecting under his legs and his belly. If your puppy objects, firmly but gently continue the procedure to show him that these examinations will not hurt him and can actually be very relaxing. Reward good behaviour with praise and a treat. Do not stop the examination procedure if the dog becomes cantankerous. If you stop, this tells the dog that you, the owner, are very easily trained and will back off when he acts up. Ignore any poor or objectionable behaviour and immediately praise the good. 

 

It’s good to introduce the puppy to grooming tools at a young age. Consulting with a professional groomer will help you select the proper grooming equipment for your pet. There are different brushes for different coats, and it is important to select the correct brush or comb for the job. 

 

1. Short bristle brushes work well on short-coated dogs, like Beagles and Chihuahuas, as these remove dead hair and dirt while keeping the natural oils of the coat well distributed. Medium-coated dogs, like Golden Retrievers, or long-coated dogs, like Poodles or Maltese, may require several different pieces of grooming equipment in order to keep their coats neat and tangle-free. Soft bristle brushes will not do the job on a long coat, as they will just brush the top hair and will not get down to the skin and separate each hair. 

 

2. Brushes that work well for long coats are often called “slickers” and are composed of many small pins that are spaced closely together. These can be found in varying degrees of “stiffness.” I recommend a gentle, or soft, slicker for your puppy. You can progress to a stiffer brush as the dog grows older and the coat matures. 

 

3. A metal comb is a very handy addition. Try to get one with wide spacing on one side and narrow on the other side. These combs do a good job of making sure all of the dog’s hairs are separated and not matting together. 

 

4. While shopping, pick up a bottle of conditioning spray. These sprays can be used for short- and medium-coated dogs to give shine to the coat, and they are very useful in keeping long coats tangle-free. 

 

5. If you are planning on giving your new puppy a bath, now is a good time to get a recommendation for the right kind of shampoo. Avoid using human shampoos, as the pH value is different than dogs and may result in dry skin and coat. There are tear-less puppy shampoos available that are gentle and non-irritating in the event you get some into their eyes. 

 

6. Long-coated dogs will need some kind of conditioner to help keep their hair tangle-free. 

 

7. If you plan on attempting to trim your puppy’s nails, shop for a nail trimmer at this time, too. 

Hold a piece of food in your hand and keep it in the closed position. 

Your dog may try smelling, nibbling, or pawing at the treat, but don’t give it to him until he hesitates momentarily, either by stopping and moving his nose back or by turning his head away. 

When he makes any motion to move away, praise him and give him the food you have in your hand. 

Repeat this exercise a couple of times until your dog consistently makes the decision to take his nose away from the food in your hand 

 

Now add the words 'leave' while he is in the act of moving his head away. This will build up an association between the cue and the action. 

Repeat this process a number of times. 

Once he is responding reliably, ask him to 'leave' as soon as you present your hand to him; then reward him for complying 

 

Now that you have built up an association with the word and the action, you can make it harder for your dog. 

 

Put the food on your open palm so that he can see and smell it. 

Place a food reward in your other hand and hide it behind your back. 

Show your dog the food in your open palm and ask him to 'leave .' At this stage it may be harder for your dog to comply because now he can actually see the treat right in front of him. 

If he tries to get it, cup your hand over the treat and place your hand behind you for a few seconds.  

If your dog does comply, do not reward him with the treat from the hand that you have asked him to leave. Give him the food reward that you are holding in your other hand. At this stage it’s essential that he never gets the food that he has decided to leave, so the reward now has to come from elsewhere. 

 

Up the ante by making it even harder for your dog. Put the food on a table or the floor. 

Repeat the process, rewarding your dog with a treat in your hand, not the one on the table or floor. 

 

Put a lead on your dog and walk him past the treat on the floor. 

If he reaches for it, say 'leave' without jerking the lead, and praise and reward him for his compliance. If he grabs the treat, don’t try to get it out of his mouth. Go back to the previous stage where he was successful and build up the cue until he is ready to try again. 

 

Keep repeating the exercise by placing other objects on the floor – preferably the types of things you want him to leave alone. Once your dog is doing well with this cue inside the home, you can start to use it outside. 

Play with your puppy with an appropriate toy, something soft that they will enjoy having in their mouth. Start to gently tug etc, so that the puppy tugs a little back. Don't worry if your puppy lets go or isn't interested in tugging, not every puppy enjoys this type of game. The object of the exercise is to be able to have your puppy let go of something on cue, so if your puppy doesn't want to have something in its mouth and keep it from you, you wont need to use this cue hardly at all! 

 

When you've been playing tuggy for a little bit, gently bring the toy towards you at the same height as the puppy's mouth. ie don't pull it up etc., We want to start to teach the puppy that if we apply pressure or tug the toy, its game on, but if we hold it still, you must let go. So puling it up will keep pressure on the mouth as they will keep a tight hold.  

 

Now keep the toy as still as you can whilst held tight against your legs and start to cover the toy bit by bit with your hands. You will feel the puppy releasing pressure in its grip and as soon as it lets go, say 'Out' and praise the puppy. The reward for this game is the game WILL start again. 

 

When the puppy is calm and not trying to jump up to get the toy etc., offer the toy to the puppy, saying 'Take it' and resume the game of tug. Every now and again, you repeat the 'Out', praise and restart the game as the reward.