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Bully Boot Camp
No matter where you are with your dog, you can start fresh right now,
today. Most behavior problems stem from lack of communication and
consistency. But you can change that. First, start thinking in terms of
teaching instead of commanding. This may be very different than the way
you are used to working with your dog. Please know that our methods
are not new, they are based on the works of great trainers and
behaviorists. We have patched together the pieces and come up with a
formula that has worked wonders with the Pits we've worked with.
Please read this section through before getting started. Then get a
calendar and mark down when you plan on working with your dog. Plan
on 5-7 sessions each week, about 10 minutes each session. Once you
and your dog get started, you'll probably want to do more!
We also highly recommend hand feeding. It ensures that you will be doing
at least two short training sessions each day. It conditions your dogs to
look to you as a leader because you are in control of the resources. It also
means that our dogs are working for food - something that comes
naturally for dogs. If you think about it, it's totally unnatural to plop a bowl
of food down in front of a dog.
Class is in Session
The first thing you need to do is load up on treats. Some dogs will work
for kibble while dogs will only work for high value treats like cheese or
dried liver. Use the cheapest value treat that the dog will work for. Save
the good stuff for when the dog needs a little extra motivation. Stand on
the dog’s leash so that you have two hands available. Be sure that the
dog has enough slack so that he can back up a couple of feet. The point is
not to control the dog’s movement, rather his ability to just walk off and
quit. Say the dog’s name a few times and treat him to let him know that
“Class is in Session.”
Watch Me
Take a treat in your fingers and show it to the dog. Bring the treat
towards your face. As soon as the dog makes eye contact, mark with
“Yes” or Good” and give a small treat. Repeat this 10 to 20 times. Once
the dog has figured out that eye contact is the behavior you’re looking for,
you can attach the verbal cue “Watch Me.” To reinforce, you can move the
treat away from your face and put your arms out to the side. Wait for the
dog to make eye contact and reward.
Sit
Use a treat at the dog’s nose to lure the head up and back. This is a
simple lesson in quadruped physics – dog’s head goes up and back, the
butt goes down. The dog may try to back up. If so, stand near a wall and
shorten the distance your dog can back up. As soon as the dog’s butt hits
the floor, verbally mark the behavior ("Good!") and give a small food
reward. Once the dog has completed this 10 to 20 times, you can
introduce the verbal cue, “Sit.”
Once your dog reliably understands the sit command, require a sit before
leashing up to go outside, before feeding, before play, before anything
the dog wants. Sit is one of the most basic and important things a dog
can learn. The ultimate goal should be for the dog to default to a sit
whenever he wants something.
Down
Begin with your dog in a sit. Put a treat to the dog’s nose and lure it
down. Some dogs may need to have the treat brought down in front of
them and then around towards their shoulder. The turning of the head is
sometimes the trick to getting the dog into the down position. Another
method is to sit on the floor with your knees bent and to lure the dog
under your legs. As soon as the dog is down, mark and treat. As with sit,
let the dog complete the task 10 to 20 times and then introduce the
verbal cue "down."
Stay
The secret to teaching Stay is baby steps. Begin with your dog in a down.
Put your hand up in a “Stop” (palm facing the dog.) As you flash your palm
say, “Stay.” Immediately praise and reward. Repeat this 10 times. Next,
add a 1 second pause before you praise and reward. Continue doing this,
adding one second at a time, until you reach 5 seconds. Then you can free
your dog for a moment. Call him back and get him into a down. This time,
add movement to your repertoire. Take a tiny step back and then quickly
come back to your dog. Repeat 10 times, increasing the time by 1 or 2
seconds of time before you step back to the dog. The next step is to
increase the distance between you and the dog. You can switch off,
increasing distance or duration.
The last step is adding distractions. Here are some ideas you can
incorporate:
Counting aloud, jumping in place, running in place, clapping, waving your
arms, turning in a circle, sitting and then standing up, leaving the room
and entering again. Your dog needs to learn, in small steps, that Stay
means Stay means Stay - no matter how tempting it may be to jump up
and join in on something that appears to be more exciting.
The trick to teaching a stay is to not let your dog make a mistake - and
this is about YOU, not your dog. If you dog breaks his stay, it means that
you moved ahead before he was ready. Map out your own lesson plan,
always starting with a piece of the previous lesson. Remember that
setting your dog up to succeed will make for a better learning experience.
Treating
Always vary the number of treats you use to reward your dog. Every once
in a while let your dog hit the jackpot, letting him eat 5 or 10 treats out of
your hand. If the dog doesn’t know what’s coming, he’ll probably work
harder in hopes of hitting the jackpot. Once your dog knows a command,
you can begin using a variable reward schedule and switching between
praise and food rewards. When teaching something new always reward
with praise and food.
Primary & Secondary Reinforcers
Food is what we normally use as the Primary Reinforcer. It’s something
your dog needs and will work for. Some dogs aren't food motivated and
will work hard for a ball or a toy – in their case the toy would be the
primary reinforcer.
It is not true that dogs will work solely for our praise, at least not initially.
What we do in Positive Reinforcement Training is create a bridge between
the Primary Reinforcer and the Secondary or Conditioned Reinforcer. At
first, we use food to reward behaviors – at the same time we use verbal
praise. The dog begins to associate the two. Secondary Reinforcers are
important. You can't always have a treat available, nor should you have to.
Keep in Mind…
We are teaching the dog, not commanding your dog. It’s sometimes hard
to break the habit of telling your dog what to do. If he doesn't know what
“Sit” means, it is useless and counter productive to say “Sit, sit, sit, sit…”
which is probably why in traditional methods, people actually put their
hand on the dogs bottom and push it down. It’s far more effective to be
creative and get the dog to do what you want without saying a word. As
soon as the behavior occurs, mark it with a “Yes” or “Good” and give a
food reward so the dog knows you like what he’s giving you.
After the dog understands the behavior, attach the verbal cue.
Remember BMPC - Behavior, Marker & Praise, Cue
Never train to the point of frustration for you or the dog. It’s a good idea
to break training up into manageable chunks of 5 to 15 minutes and keep
it fun and positive. If the dog starts to become frustrated, go back to
something he knows so you can end the session on a positive note. We
want our dogs to look forward to training!
Attitude counts. If your dog is doing well, be enthusiastic! Let the dog
know that “yes!” you really like that behavior. If you’re attempting to calm
a dog, speak softly or whisper. The dog may not know what you’re saying,
but he might get the message.
The End
You need to let the dog know when his work is done. Give the verbal cue
“Free!” or "All Done!" to release him. Be clear about when you’re training,
when you’re playing and when you’re just spending time with him.
A Note to our Friends...
Do not be surprised if your dog seems to get closer to you when your
training journey. Training strengthens the bond we have with our dogs.
For Pitbull parents, you may thing it's not even possible for your dog to be
more affectionate, but believe us! Yet another positive side effect to
positive training!
CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO THE MAIN EDUCATION PAGE
today. Most behavior problems stem from lack of communication and
consistency. But you can change that. First, start thinking in terms of
teaching instead of commanding. This may be very different than the way
you are used to working with your dog. Please know that our methods
are not new, they are based on the works of great trainers and
behaviorists. We have patched together the pieces and come up with a
formula that has worked wonders with the Pits we've worked with.
Please read this section through before getting started. Then get a
calendar and mark down when you plan on working with your dog. Plan
on 5-7 sessions each week, about 10 minutes each session. Once you
and your dog get started, you'll probably want to do more!
We also highly recommend hand feeding. It ensures that you will be doing
at least two short training sessions each day. It conditions your dogs to
look to you as a leader because you are in control of the resources. It also
means that our dogs are working for food - something that comes
naturally for dogs. If you think about it, it's totally unnatural to plop a bowl
of food down in front of a dog.
Class is in Session
The first thing you need to do is load up on treats. Some dogs will work
for kibble while dogs will only work for high value treats like cheese or
dried liver. Use the cheapest value treat that the dog will work for. Save
the good stuff for when the dog needs a little extra motivation. Stand on
the dog’s leash so that you have two hands available. Be sure that the
dog has enough slack so that he can back up a couple of feet. The point is
not to control the dog’s movement, rather his ability to just walk off and
quit. Say the dog’s name a few times and treat him to let him know that
“Class is in Session.”
Watch Me
Take a treat in your fingers and show it to the dog. Bring the treat
towards your face. As soon as the dog makes eye contact, mark with
“Yes” or Good” and give a small treat. Repeat this 10 to 20 times. Once
the dog has figured out that eye contact is the behavior you’re looking for,
you can attach the verbal cue “Watch Me.” To reinforce, you can move the
treat away from your face and put your arms out to the side. Wait for the
dog to make eye contact and reward.
Sit
Use a treat at the dog’s nose to lure the head up and back. This is a
simple lesson in quadruped physics – dog’s head goes up and back, the
butt goes down. The dog may try to back up. If so, stand near a wall and
shorten the distance your dog can back up. As soon as the dog’s butt hits
the floor, verbally mark the behavior ("Good!") and give a small food
reward. Once the dog has completed this 10 to 20 times, you can
introduce the verbal cue, “Sit.”
Once your dog reliably understands the sit command, require a sit before
leashing up to go outside, before feeding, before play, before anything
the dog wants. Sit is one of the most basic and important things a dog
can learn. The ultimate goal should be for the dog to default to a sit
whenever he wants something.
Down
Begin with your dog in a sit. Put a treat to the dog’s nose and lure it
down. Some dogs may need to have the treat brought down in front of
them and then around towards their shoulder. The turning of the head is
sometimes the trick to getting the dog into the down position. Another
method is to sit on the floor with your knees bent and to lure the dog
under your legs. As soon as the dog is down, mark and treat. As with sit,
let the dog complete the task 10 to 20 times and then introduce the
verbal cue "down."
Stay
The secret to teaching Stay is baby steps. Begin with your dog in a down.
Put your hand up in a “Stop” (palm facing the dog.) As you flash your palm
say, “Stay.” Immediately praise and reward. Repeat this 10 times. Next,
add a 1 second pause before you praise and reward. Continue doing this,
adding one second at a time, until you reach 5 seconds. Then you can free
your dog for a moment. Call him back and get him into a down. This time,
add movement to your repertoire. Take a tiny step back and then quickly
come back to your dog. Repeat 10 times, increasing the time by 1 or 2
seconds of time before you step back to the dog. The next step is to
increase the distance between you and the dog. You can switch off,
increasing distance or duration.
The last step is adding distractions. Here are some ideas you can
incorporate:
Counting aloud, jumping in place, running in place, clapping, waving your
arms, turning in a circle, sitting and then standing up, leaving the room
and entering again. Your dog needs to learn, in small steps, that Stay
means Stay means Stay - no matter how tempting it may be to jump up
and join in on something that appears to be more exciting.
The trick to teaching a stay is to not let your dog make a mistake - and
this is about YOU, not your dog. If you dog breaks his stay, it means that
you moved ahead before he was ready. Map out your own lesson plan,
always starting with a piece of the previous lesson. Remember that
setting your dog up to succeed will make for a better learning experience.
Treating
Always vary the number of treats you use to reward your dog. Every once
in a while let your dog hit the jackpot, letting him eat 5 or 10 treats out of
your hand. If the dog doesn’t know what’s coming, he’ll probably work
harder in hopes of hitting the jackpot. Once your dog knows a command,
you can begin using a variable reward schedule and switching between
praise and food rewards. When teaching something new always reward
with praise and food.
Primary & Secondary Reinforcers
Food is what we normally use as the Primary Reinforcer. It’s something
your dog needs and will work for. Some dogs aren't food motivated and
will work hard for a ball or a toy – in their case the toy would be the
primary reinforcer.
It is not true that dogs will work solely for our praise, at least not initially.
What we do in Positive Reinforcement Training is create a bridge between
the Primary Reinforcer and the Secondary or Conditioned Reinforcer. At
first, we use food to reward behaviors – at the same time we use verbal
praise. The dog begins to associate the two. Secondary Reinforcers are
important. You can't always have a treat available, nor should you have to.
Keep in Mind…
We are teaching the dog, not commanding your dog. It’s sometimes hard
to break the habit of telling your dog what to do. If he doesn't know what
“Sit” means, it is useless and counter productive to say “Sit, sit, sit, sit…”
which is probably why in traditional methods, people actually put their
hand on the dogs bottom and push it down. It’s far more effective to be
creative and get the dog to do what you want without saying a word. As
soon as the behavior occurs, mark it with a “Yes” or “Good” and give a
food reward so the dog knows you like what he’s giving you.
After the dog understands the behavior, attach the verbal cue.
Remember BMPC - Behavior, Marker & Praise, Cue
Never train to the point of frustration for you or the dog. It’s a good idea
to break training up into manageable chunks of 5 to 15 minutes and keep
it fun and positive. If the dog starts to become frustrated, go back to
something he knows so you can end the session on a positive note. We
want our dogs to look forward to training!
Attitude counts. If your dog is doing well, be enthusiastic! Let the dog
know that “yes!” you really like that behavior. If you’re attempting to calm
a dog, speak softly or whisper. The dog may not know what you’re saying,
but he might get the message.
The End
You need to let the dog know when his work is done. Give the verbal cue
“Free!” or "All Done!" to release him. Be clear about when you’re training,
when you’re playing and when you’re just spending time with him.
A Note to our Friends...
Do not be surprised if your dog seems to get closer to you when your
training journey. Training strengthens the bond we have with our dogs.
For Pitbull parents, you may thing it's not even possible for your dog to be
more affectionate, but believe us! Yet another positive side effect to
positive training!
CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO THE MAIN EDUCATION PAGE
