We got Oracio three weeks ago. He’s about 40 pounds, about 7 years old, shepherdy-looking with prick ears, chewed up around the nose, and lame. A real street dog. A sweet temperament, though, and some real plusses: no resource guarding, no separation anxiety, no barking, and he enjoys the crate. And some drawbacks: does not tolerate intact males ever; does not want to share our space with visiting dogs, even sweet little females, though he’s okay with them if they meet in neutral territory; and counter-surfs a lot. It became clear he had never worn a harness, never eaten a carrot or peanut butter, and he jumps all over us when we were preparing food.
Where to start his training? Well, he absolutely must come when called. If he’s loose and sees a male dog, he absolutely must turn back from confrontation and return lickety-split to me. So, the first behavior I trained was Ven! or Come! And upon returning to sit in front of me, his behavior was marked by a click or the word, Yes! Immediately after, he got a high-value treat. This is all we did training-wise for the first 2 weeks. He jumps over hedges to get to me now when I say this word.
Then I went to work on building self-control. Yes, I said to him, I understand you want this food bowl very, very much. It goes to the fellow who gets a grip on his excitement and sits down.
At some point, we practiced nice walking on leash. At first, he pulled to go in the street. Old habits, I guess. He also stopped everywhere to leave a card. But I started rewarding him for walking steadily on my left side with a loose leash. In time, I added checking in with me with his eyes. There wasn’t a lot of discussion about it. He just picked it up. Very, very nice, I’ve gotta say.
Speaking of meeting my eyes, when he first came, Oracio avoiding looking at me. But now he does. I am calling that behavior “Mirame” or “Look at me”. The foundation of all behavior is getting your dog’s attention.
Today, I introduced the behavior of him touching my open palm with his nose. I am calling this “Toca” or “Touch”. It’s a very useful tool in my training toolbox. It can be another way of asking for Come. And it’s a way to avoid arguments with your dog. How? Well, maybe he was doing something you don’t like, like eating the plants or humping your leg. You ask him for a behavior you do like, like Toca, reward him for doing it and you’re both happy.
These are small behaviors and we do them when we feel like it. There is no stress at all. But already Oracio looks to me for direction. So now, when we see our intact neighbor dog, I reward O for being quiet and not growling. Poco a poco we are creating a bright future.
If you have training needs, give me a call. I can help. I am a CTP (Certified Training Partner) of the prestigious Karen Pryor Academy.
Cuenca
Heather Conley
heather@thedoghousenyc.com
099 900 3991
