Luna is a Great Dane x English Mastiff mix pup chosen as a candidate for Mobility work for a handler with Narcolepsy w/ Cataplexy. Follow her journey from birth to graduation covering all of her training and adventures.
These two are never far apart - she loves her Fizzy.
But there is more than just cute pics going on here. What does your dog do when you are cooking or eating? I live in a very small old farmhouse and there is not a ton of room for dogs to be milling around while I am cooking. The big boys, Gryph and Luka tend to hang out on the beds in the adjoining bedroom and the girls are happy to settle on this bed in the kitchen so they can keep an eye on things but not be in the way.
Teaching your dogs to automatically go to their space when you start preparing dinner and stay there while you are eating can be a huge help and it is a great IMPULSE CONTROL behavior.
It stops accidents from being underfoot, stops begging and scavenging, prevents counter surfing behaviors and creates calmness and an automatic SETTLE behavior. Every house can benefit from this!
Let's talk about this for a moment. Getting those treats out of your hand is a very important step of any training but I have a lot of students who ask when they can stop using rewards all together.
Remember - rewards can be anything - which is why I transition from food as the primary to praise/play/access to a resource as we go.
Luna is learning that BEHAVIOR happens first because it is asked not because there is a great reward offered. Don't get me wrong - there is a great reward involved but it only comes AFTER the behavior is done - not as a bribe for doing it.
Does your dog need to SEE the treat in your hand before they will respond? Then you need to work on what is called FADING THE LURE. Make the reward a REWARD and not a BRIBE...it makes all the difference.
Training card from my Facebook Training Levels Group
A CHIN REST is a type of body targeting - teaching a dog to put some part of their body on something in a specific way. For the base of this behavior, it is their chin onto the handlers palm.
WHY?
Chin rests serve a multitude of purposes helpful to handlers, vets & groomers.
Helpful for creating calmness in overly excited dogs
Helps nervous/anxious dogs overcome hand shyness
Gives a dog a positive option to do when overstimulated by play or drive
Helps reduce mouthing behavior in puppies
Creates a foundation for cooperative care / positive vetting associations
Forms the basis of some pressure therapy tasks for service dogs
While working the TRAINING LEVELS system, I added bonus skills categories for my group to train including TASKING and PUBLIC ACCESS skills. This is one of the skills from the tasking category. At it's base - we are just looking for a calm chin rest in the handlers palm for 10 seconds. Then there are additional extra credit options as you progress.
Luna is just starting to learn it and we practiced a bit while waiting at the vet. She even offers it a few times on her own.
Luna and I just came from her second wellness appointment and vaccination update. She was a little rockstar once again.
Initial Weight 11/7/17: 14.8lbs
Second Visit 11/24/17: 21.8lbs
ON TRACK - 7lb gain in 3 weeks
Unbothered by vaccinations, sounds or smells of the exam room or general handling behaviors needed.
Preparing your pup for things they are likely to have happen during grooming or vet visits is a very important part of the socialization process. You should be able to touch, handle and manipulate any part of their body without fussing. It is actually covered under the TRAINING LEVELS system we are using in Level 2 but I always start it from the beginning. It is a great follow through to the ENS (early neurological stimulation) exercises the breeder started for us.
While we were waiting to be seen I shot some video of the exercises we are doing although it looks a little different doing them one handed while holding the phone... LOL
Mealtimes here are broken into three at this age for Luna. There are no hard or fast rules for what meal gets what treatment but meals are not just bowl fed and go.
BREAKFAST is usually fed from a KONG - either a frozen or a Wobbler
LUNCH is usually done by training session - so essentially hand fed as we go
DINNER is usually half and half of the above - some used for training and then the rest fed through an enrichment toy or puzzle. This helps her settle much better at night in the kennel.
Here is a mini training session we recently had with her lunch.
It's important to train the "pup that shows up" - meaning being fluid enough to adapt your sessions and training style to the dog as they are in that moment in front of you, not try to force your expectations on them.
She was excited in the beginning to train but then she was just like - nope - just feed me now. There is no point in making her frustrated or me getting angry at her not doing what I asked - besides the fact that she is a baby baby still - making training a chore or something the dog avoids does no one any good so we wrapped it up and she had lunch.
I have briefly mentioned this before but I wanted to take a minute to talk about the importance of body awareness and canine conditioning exercises in any dog - but especially in working dogs of all types - whether that be dogs sports, farm life or especially service work that has physical components like Luna will be doing.
It is vital that we keep their bodies at the right weight and muscular development but also challenge them physically as well as mentally to build stronger core muscles, better immunity, flexibility and endurance. There are tons of products to help with this like the FitPAWS range.
One of the simplest exercises to start this with is just a body rotation / spin circles trick. We ask them to spin their body in both directions on cue. This is great for spinal flex, balanced muscle development, rear end awareness and can be a great reset behavior for low stress repetitions between other exercises. And most dogs love to do it...Gryph thinks it is great fun!
Sit...sit...sit, sit, siiiiittttttt..SIT! SIT DOWN! SIT!
All too often, I see parents of both the 2 and 4 legged variety spending far too much time and energy trying to get them to do something simple and every day like SIT. How many times do we see pet owners who ask their dog over and over again to do what should be quite a simple command? Do they not know what it means? Are they blowing you off? Actually - you have probably taught them that either the cue is 10 repetitions long or that there is no consistency in the cue and they are confused.
We as human beings are a very verbal society and our preferred method of communication is verbal (and for many of us this is accompanied by quite a few gesturing waves thrown in for good measure).
Dogs primary method of communication is NON-verbal. So for them, the constant stream of information can be frustrating at best and overwhelming at the worst.
There are many times when we don't need to put as much verbal energy into a situation as we do. Deaf dogs can obviously learn just as well as hearing dogs, so the verbal component is NOT the key. By learning when and how to use your voice in training, you can increase the effectiveness of your training by 60% with just this one adaptation.
Much like the old Santa Claus adage, dogs are watching everything you do, and they read far more off body language then the actual words, you say. It doesn't matter if you train your dog in English, German, Russian or a completely nonsensical language - people train in Harry Potter spells, Elvish and Klingon - the dogs don't care.
They don't know the word until you teach it to them, and they really have no preference for what spoken language you are using, but rather the timing, tone and energy level of it. There is no standard cue you can use that your dog will recognize and immediately follow. To them, most of the time, we sound like the Charlie Brown teacher - wah wah waaaah wah - SIT - wah wah - DOWN...
SO WHAT DO YOU DO THEN?
TIMING: When TEACHING a behavior - acknowledge and mark with the word when they are DOING the behavior - not BEFORE. Telling a dog that doesn't know DOWN to do so over and over as they stand there and look at you does not connect the word with the behavior you want in their mind at all.
Now if you see them in a DOWN - Capture it!! - That is when you say the word - YES! DOWN! - when they are DOING the behavior.
Once they understand the behavior - then you can start asking for it beforehand but they should be at about 80-85% reliability before this.
TONE: Cues should be given in a CONVERSATIONAL tone. If your dog can hear a cheese wrapper crinkle from 3 rooms away - they heard what you said right in front of them.
Practice WHISPER TRAINING - how quietly can you say the cue and they respond. This encourages focus and relating to the handler vs what can quickly become avoidance or stress behaviors in your dog and you feeling like you have to be harsh or punitive. If you have to get loud or aggressive with your dog's cues - including things like Leave It - they do not know the behavior well enough. It isn't a matter of volume - getting louder, more insistent and frustrated doesn't make behavior happen any faster - it just makes it less consistent.
ENERGY LEVEL - I'm not talking about Cesar Milan "energy" here but actual applied volume and movement energy. The energy level you put into your words does matter.
When you're training something static like a body position - SIT, DOWN or STAND, impulse control exercises like WATCH, LEAVE and matwork or your dog is doing problem solving brain games - you want to put as little verbal energy into that as possible. When you want a calm behavior from your dog - you must have calm hands, calm mind & a calm mouth.
Now, if you're trying to get an active behavior, such as a fast recall or an excited touch - this is where you are going to direct a high level of energy and excitement. When you want movement, be animated with your voice and your body - this is the time for praise parties and cheerleading.
Your voice, or lack thereof, should always reflect the energy level you are trying to achieve.
Especially for service dogs, I think it's important that you are able to communicate with them as simply as possible and being able to just give a quick hand signal that they can reliably respond to can go a long way to making things much easier in challenging public situations. If you don't have to stop and address your dog multiple times verbally - but can instead just give a subtle hand signal and keep going, you are likely to be much less stressed and in crowded or loud environments, you don't have to worry about being heard.
In the videos below, you can see the beginnings of hand signal only work with Luna. We want her to respond quickly and correctly, the first time a cue is given and be able to focus on Daishia in public no matter what the distraction.
These are taught as separate components to the behavior.
First we have to teach the behavior itself. That is what I am doing here. Introducing the beginnings of the behavior, luring her into position with a modified version of the finished hand signal that we will clean up as she understands and then marking and only telling her the word when she is in the desired position.
Hand signals I recommend but you can of course create your own
Then we will introduce what criteria she needs to meet to get it right - our 4 D's:
DISTANCE
DURATION
Under DISTRACTION
With DIVERSITY
Then we want to put it on our reliable cue given in a QUIET, CONVERSATIONAL TONE (or even whisper) or SUBTLE hand signal (of which she will have both verbal and hand signal)
No loud, harsh toned verbals - no exaggerated, large body signals - no repeats. Then we can call the behavior complete.
Again, this is just the way that I personally choose to train things. This is not, by any means, the only way.
Sue Ailsby sums it up nicely in her introduction to her TRAINING LEVELS system.
QUIET HANDS, QUIET BODIES, QUIET MOUTHS
When a good dressage rider goes through her routine with her horse, she appears to be doing nothing. Her hands barely move, her body barely moves, and any words she says are whispered. This is the ideal for dog trainers as well – quiet hands, quiet bodies, and quiet mouths. Concentrate on what your hands, body, and voice are saying to the dog. He'll learn faster and easier when he's not distracted by extraneous motion and noise.
Here is Luna learning her SIT on signal. She is a cheeky monkey in that she will sit if she sees/smells the treat in my hand - otherwise she will bark, back off and carry on. This is not her misbehaving, she isn't being bossy or demanding - she is simply early enough in the learning process that she doesn't have an understanding of how payroll works yet. She will learn that she still gets paid - in food, treats, play, praise or affection AFTER she does the behavior as we go but for now the important part is to show her HOW to do the behavior and then we will raise the criteria.
Her DOWN is being taught as a foldback down - meaning she doesn't SIT first. There are many reasons for this including to strengthen the difference between the two so when asked for a STAY in a certain position - she can maintain that position.
A lot of dogs taught DOWN from SIT generalize that it's coming and slide into a DOWN when asked to SIT - predicting you're going to ask for that - and then you have to retrain that. Or you can skip the SIT all together as it has nothing to do with the DOWN anyway.
In both of these videos, you can see I am clicking/marking the correct behavior and save the verbal components for praise and telling her what the behavior is called as we build it.
Try it - you might be surprised at the difference it makes!
At casual glance, you might think this is just a regular old bed lovingly being shared by two BFFs. And to a degree, you're right. But there's magic in 'dem 'dere hills - errr - well bed legs and this one simple thing can make all the difference in the world to a whole host of situations.
GO TO MAT / PLATFORM WORK is a skill I think every dog should have.
It stops so many issues in their tracks and literally saves dogs lives. If your dog reliably knows how to go to their place (I recommend a raised bed of some sort) - you can change so many behaviors:
Gorgeous Giant Schnauzer pup - SIRIUS - practicing on his mini trampoline
* No more door dashing * No more jumping on guests when they arrive * No more going crazy at the sound of the doorbell / mailman / delivery drivers * No more begging at the table * No more chasing the cats * Makes teaching Wait/Stay much easier * Teaches impulse control and patience
Pups are never too young to learn and it is easy and fun to teach. Luna already finds being on the bed reinforcing as she, like many Mastiffs and Danes, finds comfort to be of the utmost importance. It is also important for her joints that she isn't lying on the hard floor.
I have old hardwood floors in this house and this ensures she doesn't have too much pressure on her growing limbs. She will of course outgrow this one soon, but we have all the sizes up to her adult one on hand...LOL
Right now, it is not just a resting place, but it also is a spot she is choosing to go to for a variety of behavior choices.
Since I do a lot of my computer work in the kitchen, if I am having lunch - she chooses the bed over begging. Great choice! Wants to lay down and work on a Frozen KONG - she chooses the bed. Another great choice.
Wants a break from Fizzy? Bed again. It is these choices that make matwork such a great compliment to training any basic behavior.
You can pair the behavior of going to the mat/bed/spot with a sound that may be triggering behaviors you don't want. Another gorgeous Luna I worked with this past year did really well with her first attempts at learning to Go To Mat when she heard a knocking sound.
Luna learning the mat is more rewarding than running to the door.
This is a great way to teach excited dogs an alternate behavior for when company comes over. We are also using it to curtail her desire to rush out the door after the kitties when they are being fed.
I love these particular K&H Pet Cots - easy to put together, washable covers and durable as long as you don't leave them to be chewed on...LOL
The slightly raised platform not only gets them off the ground, but also gives a distinctive boundary edge to behaviors like Stay/Wait. Here is ONYX, a Lab pup working on learning to Stay while toys are being thrown around for distraction. When they can master this - they really can master changing any of the above mentioned behaviors!
As I was prepping KONG toys for the furkids, I realized not everyone knows about these great options for Doggie Brain Games and Mental Stimulation exercises.
WHAT IS A KONG EXACTLY?
KONG itself is a company that makes a great range of toys for dogs but many people refer to other types of similar toys by the same name. Generally these are made of rubber or a similar polymer and you can fill them with kibble or treats for a dog to get out.
WHY WOULD YOU STUFF ONE?
Stuffable toys like KONGS can serve many purposes:
Mental Stimulation - dogs that are easily bored, hyper or need daily challenges can really benefit from this type of enrichment.
Slow Down - some dogs eat far too quickly and inhale their food and this is one of many great options to slow them down, reducing the chances of complications like choking or bloat.
Confidence Building - winning at this game can provide dogs that are insecure or anxious with a well deserved confidence boost for interacting with their environment.
Crate Destressor - some dogs are stressed by their handlers leaving for the day and giving them a puzzle like this is a great way to take their mind off of the act of the handler leaving and refocus it to a positive - dogs with anxiety disorders may not be able to redirect, but a dog that is simply fussy can often come to see this "prize" as a real highlight and begin to look forward to their daily crate time.
Variety - This type of toy breaks up the day for any dog and gives you a chance to offer different types of food/reward in a controlled exercise.
SO HOW DO YOU USE IT? WHAT DO YOU USE TO STUFF IT?
There are lots of recipes that you can use, and a lot of Kong type toys, but the most basic process is to use it to feed meals with basic kibble and a stopper of something like peanut butter, canned dog food, cream cheese or canned pumpkin. Having said that, I know people who use banana, mashed potato or even raw meat pieces to fill the end. It depends on what your dog finds rewarding!
You can also mix things into the kibble part itself like dry treats, apple or carrot slices or cheese cubes (but I will say the cheese tends to clump the kibble together and if your dog isn't determined enough it can just frustrate them).
GETTING SETUP
Toys to Fill
Kibble
Peanut Butter
Cream Cheese
Treats
Apple or Carrot
Cheese
Putting down a section of cling film makes this much easier. It stops anything falling out and creating a mess in your freezer.
WHY FREEZE?
A frozen Kong lasts longer, presents more of a challenge and can help teething puppies gums feel better.
FILLING
If the toy has a small hole on one end, like a standard Kong, you will not need to do anything except fill it with kibble and a stopper of your choice.
If you are using another type of toy like the Kong Dental or Dogzilla toys, with a larger hole on both ends, you want to cover one of the holes with your filler first. I am using peanut butter or cream cheese here. Once you fill that hole, turn the toy upside down on the cling film and fill with kibble. (If you are using apple or carrot, put that in first then fill the kibble to the top around it.
Taking too long or making a mess with the kibble? If it is small enough kibble, use a funnel... Don't have a funnel? Take a sheet of paper and roll into a funnel-like shape... Don't have a piece of paper? Ummmmm... That is probably beyond the purview of this article.
So you have the Kong full - now just cap the remaining hole with your choice of filling, pull the cling film up/around it and freeze overnight.
You don't need to let them thaw first - the whole point is to have the dogs work for it so give it to them straight from the freezer. Check the specifics of each toy, but in general, hot soapy water is enough to clean them or a occasional run through the dishwasher is fine for most of them.
KONG WOBBLERS
Wobblers are like giant Weeble Wobbles - they weeble and they wobble and they throw food around...but that's half the fun! Unlike the other KONG type toys, these are a hard plastic with a weighted bottom, not rubber.
All you need to do for this is twist off the bottom and fill the toy with kibble. They do come in a few sizes (the pink and blue are Puppy ones). Make sure your kibble is small enough to come out of the hole otherwise you get a frustrated doggie slamming the toy into your walls!
Normally you wouldn't add anything over the hole in these but some dogs struggle with how to get started. When I first gave this to a recent boarding pup, he looked at me like - "What am I supposed to do with that"? LOL
I added some peanut butter to give him a headstart and after the first session, he didn't need any filler - just his kibble. Then there are other dogs, like Barrow here that get it straight away.
Either of these options can be a great way to help your dog learn some problem solving skills, keep them entertained for awhile and offer a novel approach to feeding time. They'll thank you for it!
The girls are a pretty even match right now, but Fizz will have to use her speed soon as Luna is already double her weight.
We've had a lot of rain over the last few days, but Fizz doesn't mind.
LUNA, she is not loving it. I am actually going to get her a couple of sweaters and hoodies tomorrow. She will play in the rain some, and it is good exposure to get her used to wearing things so when she gets her first training cape it is not an unfamiliar sensation, but it is also because she gets the Chihuahua shakes right now if it's wet or cold and I want to make her more comfortable.
I'm watching them play this morning and something interesting in the second part of this video is I noticed some minor resource guarding behavior and stopped filming to go interrupt. No idea what she thought was valuable - I couldn't find anything up there, but the body language changes are very distinct and readable which is a good thing.
Resource guarding happens when a dog finds something innately valuable and defends it again other dogs/people/pets. Some dogs have no desire to guard anything and others seem to guard the very air itself. This is not a behavior you want to let develop as it can lead to reactivity and behavioral issues that quickly spiral out of control if not addressed.
She didn't do anything wrong here, and it is certainly nothing to worry about but it is interesting from a canine communication standpoint. She is very clear in her language to Fizz that she doesn't want to play - no matter how much Fizz tries to instigate play.
Can you tell what I am talking about?
Can you identify when she is playing and when she is defending whatever it was up there?
Do you know what signs to watch for in your own dogs play and how and when to interrupt?
Containment frustration is a common thing for a lot of dogs. Whenever they are behind any type of barrier - in the car, behind a baby gate, in a crate - and they don't want to be there - they can certainly let you know with no shortage of vocalizations. So what do you do?
First, it's important to understand WHY this is happening. Most barrier issues stem from one of two places - frustration (over excitement or boredom) or anxiety. Not all - but most.
While there are certainly similarities in how you handle it - it is important to identify the CAUSE instead of just lumping it as a bad behavior and throwing a cookie cutter solution at it.
LUNA started the week VERY frustrated at any separation. The car ride home was a tribute song to her people and the first night in the kennel was very, very long. Neither of us got much sleep!
So why do this? Why kennel her? Why not just let her out? How can you listen to that and not SAVE THEM!!
The answer is threefold:
All dogs need to learn to cope with stressors but especially Service Dog candidates. Trust me - there is a difference between a panic cry which would be addressed and general frustration.
Just like the divided camps of letting babies cry it out in the cot - trainers are divided on this issue as well. I fall in the middle. I will let a pup cry if it is a much higher level of frustration than actual distress and do not open the door if they are in an all out tantrum. This WILL teach them if they cry longer, harder, more intensely - you will give in and let them out.
Obviously if you live in an apartment or have a living situation where you can't allow this to happen, you have to have a different plan but in my case here, my dogs and I are the only ones effected.
I honestly believe ALL dogs should be crate trained, regardless of if you are going to use a crate as part of their daily routine or not. If the first time your dog ever goes into a crate is at the vet or the groomers - this is VERY stressful for them. I include crate training in every dogs life, just like any other part of the HAPPY HANDLING series for vetting and grooming. This is the same reason I believe all dogs should be taught to wear a muzzle - if the first time they ever have to is when they are in pain or shock from an accident - it causes a huge amount of stress.
Luna will not be sleeping with me, as much as we both may want it. People ask how can I let a dog go after they have been with me for so long, and this is one of the ways that happens. Imagine how bonded she would be to me if I spend all this time training and living with her but create no coping skills for independence. She can sleep with Daishia to increase their bond and sleep in her kennel to facilitate independence during her training here.
Her first day - she cried the majority of the ride in the car, anytime I closed a gate between us and for almost 2 hours that night, then anytime she woke up. A very long and unsettled night for all of us. Gryphon actually came and stood by the bed staring at me like - Moooooom - Do something!
Keep in mind - this is perfectly understandable - she is away from her littermates for the first time, away from home and everything she knows - she has been in the cars for days and like an overstimulated toddler - she is just overwhelmed.
It will get better as we work on it. If she is out WITH me, she settles and sleeps beautifully. She has adopted a spot in the kitchen and will go there to rest whenever she gets sleepy. She fell asleep chewing her cow ear the other night. She just wants to not be separated which is understandable.
Day 2, we had 45min of crying and were starting to see breaks in it of up to a few minutes instead of a few seconds.
Day 3, we are seeing improvements again - I think in about a week or so we should have this much more under control!
One of the great things about positive training is you are always looking for things to "capture" that you might need later.
Capturing is when you see a behavior that you like or may be able to use later so you acknowledge and reward it when it happens.
Since one of the ways Luna is going to learn to alert for Daishia is to put her paw on Daishia's leg while sitting, when she offered this behavior - we had a puppy praise party!
You don't have to have treats or toys or anything ready - just acknowledge and recognize the behavior when you see it and begin to pair it with the cue you are going to use if you know it.
