POST 7 - Raising the Ideal K9 Partner and the Perfect Companion

Variations on Retrieval Exercises

Most of what I/we do with the pups in training is spontaneous. I may refer to these sessions as exercises, however, know that they are not normally planned, but instead are based on the moment, the environment, how motivated the dog appears to be, and what is present in the environment.

Normally, for situations where I am directing the puppy to retrieve, I would simply restrain the dog, toss the item, pause and then direct the puppy (with a hand signal) at the item while attaching a cue to the behaviour ("take it") as he launches away from me. I want this to become familiar to him, so that in future, the hand cue and request is something that he responds to without the need to toss something to incite motion in the direction I am pointing in order to direct him to retrieve or search for something. Eventually (for area searches), I will be tossing items into an open area, without the puppy present, bringing the puppy out and directing him into the approximate area where the object is so that he may conduct his own "sniffing" search, not relying on visuals to guide him or the motion of a thrown item to stimulate him.

The exercise below is a variation on this. As stated above, normally I would be tossing an item out and directing the puppy to it, however, I wanted to break away from the stimulation provided by the thrown object (I know he will retrieve objects if thrown... over and over and over....) and add in something a bit different. Something that may cause confusion but not so much that he could not work through it. You will see my daughter run out, I release Nick, but Nick does not really want to go (does not understand the exercise) and he sticks with me. This is where patience makes the difference. Instead of trying to repeatedly direct him to retrieve, I just simply stay frozen in the position that I directed him from and wait. Eventually, knowing Nick, he will offer the behaviour on his own, which he does and completes the exercise (see video).

In the second video, a variation of the first exercise is completed. This time the object is dropped and my assistant carries on a couple of steps further from the object. Note that the dog completes the pattern that  first worked for him by going to the assistant, but, on the way back he still retrieves the object, even though the context has changed. Although this is a subtle change, I have completed similar exercises with other puppies who did not adapt to it as well. Some opt to just pick up the stick, others run out and search the assistant and, not finding anything, return to me, without the object. Nick did everything that I wanted to see. I realize it does not seem like much on video, but, it shows me a great deal about how thorough he is and, when the situation changes, he does not become anxious, he just simply thinks through it.

The Reactions of Puppies: The Role of Suspicion in the GSD

The past summer has been a particularly busy time for myself and my family. Because of this, we have not had the usual interaction with the neighbours to the east side of our property. Over the summer, the brush, bushes, trees and deep grass that grow between the neighbouring property have become quite dense to where we cannot even see over there. Just yesterday morning, my good neighbour Mike was fiddling with the lock on his shed (recently installed due to a theft that occurred) when I called out to him to identify himself. He chuckled moving over to the border of our properties and chatted with me from behind the dense, overgrown brush. I asked him to come through and meet the new "guard dog", to which he said "sure" and crunched through the bushes in his rubber boots, dress pants and shirt (he is a school teacher dressed for school with the exception of the big rubber boots). Crashing through the dense foliage he suddenly appeared approximately 10 feet from where I was standing. Nicks immediate response was to run sideways with a deep bark, jump back and then quickly got in between us and stood his ground. No hackling, ears forward, tail up. Now, I generally do not encourage or discourage this behaviour as it is something that I feel is an important, natural response that I like to see. He (Nick) should be concerned with what just came through the bushes. He should alert me to it and should be  suspicious of the intruder's intent until proven otherwise. I quickly moved forward, past Nick, shook my neighbours hand and engaged him in conversation.  I believe I caught Nick off guard by passing him so quickly and, once he realized I had passed him, he quickly circled in from behind me and also engaged the neighbour, by walking up, bumping his rubber boots with his side as he passed and carrying on finishing his investigation of the area (where my dogs usually relieve themselves). There was no concern from him at this point, but he did flick a quick glance our way on occasion.

This is not the first time that this experience has played out. In a very similar event, my neighbour has had the unfortunate experience of wandering onto my property in the wee hours of the morning when he thought everyone was in bed, when in fact I was taking the dogs out for a bathroom break. It was 1:30am when he ventured onto our property and Carmspack Agro, then 6 months old, caught wind of him, snorted and tracked him barking ferociously toward the east side of our property and held him with a circling bark and hold which I could vaguely make out through the fog (late winter defrost made it a very mushy, foggy night). The intensity of his bark made my skin crawl as I had never heard this out of him, ever. My first thought was coyote or other animal was present but it turned out to be my neighbour. This bark and hold was never taught to this puppy, he did it naturally (and convincingly from what my neighbour described). Agro called off well, I put him in a down stay and called to my neighbour who responded in a shaky voice. I released the dog once my neighbour was found to be ok and that the dog had not touched him (and once the neighbour felt confident the dog was not going to dismantle him). Agro continued on his way to the bathroom spot, past my neighbour, gave him a little body bump across the knees as he went by. I apologized to my neighbour for the scare... and then asked him why he was on the property at 1:30am. Agro watched as we chatted for a bit but realized everything was fine and continued on with his agenda.

I think it is, at this point, important to note that although I have outlined two specific incidents in the last 2 paragraphs, the context in which they played out was similar. The first was a response of a puppy caught off guard, which you would anticipate would make him back off, but instead, he collected himself and simply stood his ground and confidently performed. The second incident was the response of an older puppy, in a situation where he detected a presence that I was unaware of which brought on a response that was, in my opinion, intense yet suitable for the context in which it occurred. The key word in this is "suitable", for both dogs in both situations. Nothing over-the-top... and both pups settled once I indicated to them that everything was fine (by interacting with the source of their concern) and that they did not need to continue to hold them off. I have grown accustomed to this response from the dogs that I raise... but not the majority of GSD's that I deal with.

I see so many dogs (German Shepherds mostly) that come to me for help with reactivity/aggression it is disturbing. Some of their handlers even read this blog and I hope they realize that they are not alone, that this is not simply a training or handling issue... this is an issue of nerves and an inability to think clearly under perceived pressure. This is about an inappropriate, anxious view of the world around them that can become a very serious problem with improper handling/management. The situations I have described above were not trained for, I was not physically handling either pup during each incident, yet both still responded to me over and above their response to a potential threat. That's clear thinking... as much as I would love to take credit for it and say it was my preparation that made it all happen, what it comes down to is what they are, combined with their experiences. This is a common trait that the majority of dogs that I raise seem to possess and what the majority that come to me for help seem to lack.

It is also important (in my opinion) that it is understood that the responses mentioned above made by Agro and now Nick are not something that occur each day. The puppies raised here regularly meet or see new people on my property, out in public, from their crates either in my house or the back of the truck without any response. They were/are always neutral with strangers, aware and watching them but never a growl, bark or so much as a hard stare. Ask anyone who has parked next to my vehicle at a schutzhund club, while out tracking or just about anywhere and they will tell you that it is hard to tell that I even have dogs in there (unless I have new puppies which want out to explore or bash their water buckets relentlessly). Quiet, calm and reserving energy for when it is needed. Bring them out and they work hard, put them away again and the only sound you hear is panting. Even my current pet, Carmspack Badger, possesses the same level-headedness. Even while other dogs are being trained in protection, Badger is calm in his crate. When brought out to be worked... he is very intense yet controllable. In future posts I may include some video of Badger doing protection work as an example.

Nick... Is He Really That Perfect?

Nothing is perfect. If there is anything that should be understood when bringing a puppy into your home, it is that there are going to be things that are not ideal. So far I have outlined how great Nick is, but for those of you wondering if I am exaggerating, I can say that he is just about perfect for my purposes. However, put him in a home where he might not be compatible and what I consider to be a positive attribute could be turned into something less than desirable. For instance, the sock retrieval exercise I mentioned a few posts ago... had someone decided they would take the opposite approach and pursue Nick for the socks... I can see this turning bad quickly, teaching the dog to snatch things and run to incite a game of chase. Further to this, his barking at other dogs and the cat initially could have gone off-track had I reinforced this in some way. But these are somewhat superficial things in the grand scheme. I say this because, often times, when issues develop with the dogs that I raise, their "depth" (for lack of a better word) allows me to change what I am doing and affect change. With many of the other dogs that I work with (in private training) this depth does not exist, and change can have little impact especially when a dog has poor nerves or does not have the "depth" needed to work with.

So, why do all of the exercises that I provide video of always end successfully?

I gear all exercises to the puppies strengths so that the outcome feeds the want to continue performing the underlying task in the exercise. I want to build obsession through success, not have constant confusion brought on by an exercise that cannot be understood. Yes, there must be challenge, sometimes frustration, but only to a level that can be worked through. I want to feed the fire with challenge and frustration, not smother it by creating confusion, conflict and helplessness. This is NOT to say that I do not make mistakes or occasionally gear an exercise a bit high for Nick on occasion, but success is not something that comes without some setbacks. There is no failure, that only happens when everyone gives up and we don't do that here... we simply adapt.

Below is a long piece of video which is a continuation of the session shown in the videos above. This is a bit advanced for Nick and/or pushed a bit too far. We end with success, however, with some modifications to the exercise. Nick is a puppy and cannot always fill in the blanks as I anticipate. I may not always clearly indicate what I am wanting, leaving Nick guessing at what he should do. Sometimes the motivation is just not there. What I expect in my mind might not match the picture in his so it is my job to be patient and get us rolling in the same direction. My daughter is also experiencing this, seeing it play out for herself, in real time. This will (hopefully) teach her the benefit of patience and following through with a plan by being part of the process and experiencing the payoff (success).

The Development of a Relationship

The development of a relationship between dog and handler is key to happy dog ownership. I am not talking about the cuddling, play or the special treats/toys that people seem to think that their dog will thank them for. I am talking about an understanding between dog and handler that is formed through having common goals, a clear understanding and a real "feel for each other" that cannot be simply "bought". It is about understanding and a motivation to do things together that both find rewarding.

Often times, clients that come to me for training advice list all of the efforts they made to build their dogs loyalty/attention/interest. This may include attempts at being very physically animated and interesting to the dog to stimulate a response, the usage of food treats or an assortment of toys used to generate play. These are all viable training tools, however, if not used properly, the results are often as shallow as the attempts to win the dog over in the first place. There may be flashes of interest generated by these attempts but responsiveness to and interest in the handler is contingent on the presence of these stimulus because there is not enough relationship built in conjunction with their usage. Once the effort on the part of the handler or the item of interest is gone or, if something more interesting comes along, the dog will opt to leave his handler for more interesting possibilities.

Please do not get me wrong. The use of reward-based training is, in my eyes, appropriate for reaching my particular goals. It is a mindset that I feel more people need to adopt when focussing on their training endeavours. Unfortunately, there is a fine line between rewarding and bribing that has to be acknowledged and many of the (inexperienced) reward-based trainers out there are not conveying the message to people about building a relationship because they are too busy preaching about the premise  behind what they are teaching (or they just simply have no clue). The result paints a very accurate picture that makes this once fine line much more defined and understandable, but often it is not until someone experiences the result that they begin to realize where things went wrong. There is more to reward-based training than simply being a Pez dispenser for treats or toys. There is a need to have good timing and an energy that builds enthusiasm and interest. On the other side of the fence, it has to be understood that respect cannot be forced. Compliance is not respect, nor is it a show of motivation... it is a show of helplessness or lack of choice. Personally, I prefer motivated and mildly out of control to fearful and inhibited.

The video below outlines a brief series of exercises (again spontaneous) that were intended to further Nicks social skills by providing him with a venue where he is surrounded by stimulus and he has choices to make. Ultimately, I would prefer for him to always pick me over running off to play with other dogs. I give him the choice, but there are strings attached. If you run off to see other dogs, you lose me (I will leave). You will notice that in each exercise, however, there is a great deal of management. The first video clip shows us near the east side of our boarding kennel where our exercise areas are positioned. The existing 7' high fence that keeps our guests contained to also act as a barrier for training, in this case, to keep contact to a minimum should Nick run off to greet the dogs. However, in this instance, Nick has little to no interest in joining them (very intimidating to have 10+ dogs singling you out and barking at you). I keep moving to keep him moving and, ultimately, keep him focussed on moving past the stimulus. He is concerned with the other dogs, which can also create an advantage, especially when doing retrieval exercises where he finds comfort in returning to me over being on his own with many dogs barking intensely at him. If I felt that he was very concerned with the presence of the other dogs, I would work at a distance where he felt comfortable. Often, if a dog is driven to retrieve or play ball, I will perform an intense exercise involving either of these motivations while around the stimulus that would be considered distracting. This can, in time, create an association between the presence of other dogs and intense play from the handler, which can be an advantage as well, in any situation.

In the second half of the video, my daughter is working with Badger, trying to undo what I have done since day one (she is trying to teach him to take the ball gently). I encourage her to teach her dog what she wants to teach it. My involvement is not necessary when her goals are clear and she is working toward them. Anyway... while she is working, she is very active, as is her dog (Badger). This provides a good opportunity for me to work with Nick as well. Again, management plays a role. Badger is occupied and is very neutral toward other dogs so that, in the event that Nick is drawn to them, he will be safe and not be entertained by either Badger or his competent junior handler. I do not go to great lengths to bribe Nick to come to me, I simply let him work through the scenario. He is naturally drawn to me anyways, which is evident here. The stimulation is not overly high (only one additional dog) and it is NOT a situation where Badger is running free causing all kinds of chaos.

At this point you may be asking yourself "how does this set of exercises lend itself to improving relationship?". In times of stress or when stimulation is high, it is best that the handler is viewed as being trustworthy and consistent as well as confident. The handler should be the primary focus and the center of the puppy's world and a source of direction when necessary. Because the situation is well managed in the video above, the puppy works successfully through the situation and finds a common interest in retrieving objects for me and being with me. No conflict here and a nice interaction overall. I also enjoy sitting and watching another handler work, regardless of their age. Children who NOT overly influenced by adults and tainted by preconceived ideas can teach you a great deal about going with the flow and establishing a style all their own. My daughter has been influenced by us, but we try to keep out of things where we can, to allow her to develop her own way of training. I initially trained Badger, however, you will notice that the dog is legitimately interested in her and is working WITH her as she tries to teach the dog something new, in this case, trying to teach him to take the ball gently (I have taught him to take it like an alligator. She developed this on her own, and is not simply grinding him through a choreographed routine... this is real handling, real training. It was something for me to watch and learn from and am glad my wife recorded it so I could watch it over and over to catch the subtle handling techniques.

Now, in the video below, you will notice the next phase where I provide slightly more stimulation (perhaps a little too much now that I look back on it). As I mentioned before, many of the exercises that we work on are spontaneous in nature and we work through them. In this clip you will see us taking a walk on the property will all of our dogs loose together. You will notice that Nick is not tethered to me in any way, but I am using food as a reward (first time actually, something I have been meaning to start but just forgot). This was somewhat of a coincidence as I was working with 2 Great Danes earlier on this day and I had my training pouch (full of food) defrosted and ready to go. I clipped it on just before we left on our walk. My intent was to begin to condition Nick to the clicker, to further build communication with him and for him to learn the process of working through a problem by offering behaviour. I run through this with each of the puppies I raise at an early age to help build this area of our relationship. Having a puppy that looks to you, offers behaviour and works to achieve what you are looking for (regardless of whether it is for a treat or toy) can often make it easier to live with and train a puppy. For me, I like to create a more operant dog for future training endeavours. You will notice that what I am rewarding is not entirely specific. Again, I am conditioning him to the clicker while still marking and rewarding some basic form of responding to me. NOTE: This is a two-pronged approach to clicker conditioning that I generally not recommend to new clients as it is a fast-track approach that has its pitfalls. Usually, I prefer to condition the marker first, then begin to use it to mark specific behaviour.

The video above eventually brought us back to where we started our walk and I began to condition a down with Nick, marking when he would flatten out. Simple exercise that is intended to lay the foundation for future training while expanding Nick's repertoire of behaviours that he can perform. The session itself goes well, however, I let it go too long, Nick loses interest and begins attempting to play with the other dogs. Ideally, I would have cut the session short and avoided the part where I felt the need to abruptly end his pursuit of the other dogs and box him back up. I prefer not to end exercises like this, but I am far from perfect and like to push the envelope a bit sometimes.

Below, a video of another spontaneous exercise. While sitting on the kitchen floor, playing with Nick, I thought I should use the time to do something constructive (not doing something constructive had led to Nick tearing at my right arm which left a gaping hole in my sweater). Shaping a "down" behaviour is pretty simple and I was in the perfect position to start it. This exercise is carried out in a very similar manner to what I would have done with the clicker, but using my voice ("yes") to mark the appropriate response. Notice that I allow Nick to venture off and I do not make great attempts to gain his interest by calling him or enticing him. I simply sit and wait. This is where good management plays a role in a training exercise. Had I wanted him to focus on me and me alone, I would have set up the environment so that there was nothing but me, Nick and reward. However, that is not my intent. My intent is for him to explore other options and come back on his own to discover that I am more interesting. I do whistle and call him a few times near the midpoint of the video, but that is about it. The cat is becoming less of a draw as we work around him as well, so that is an improvement. The rest of the video is just interaction, nothing too exciting or overly important. At one point I begin to whip him up and then, at the end of the video, settle him down again. I do teach the pups that I raise to relax on request, something I have only briefly touched on with Nick. This is taught more for future events such as x-rays where the dog needs to settle and be held still. None of the dogs that I have brought in for x-ray have required sedative nor have they shown any aggression toward the techs/veterinarian that have to place them (along with my assistance) to shoot the films.

That is all for now. I have completed a few search exercises in long grass, have had him on more truck rides, and just let him be a puppy by allowing him to have access to the house and outside without much interference on my part. He is growing considerably and is developing an interesting personality, increasing in independence and becoming more coordinated with each passing day.

I may touch on diet and other health and wellness related topics next post if I have time.

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