The Magic and Science of Walking (Part 3)

Why do we teach a dog to sit?

It's kind of a weird trick, on its own, and isn't particularly amazing. It's more of a polite request to be more comfortable. Won't you have a seat? And yet it seems to be the most common thing people say to a dog besides its name. 

But "sit" is secretly wonderful. It's a posture the dog takes naturally, and it places him in the perfect position: looking up. And what's he looking at? You! Well, you and that treat in your hand, maybe. Still, his attention is on you, and that's exactly where you want it. 

There's my baby Josie, only two months old and sitting like a champ: ears forward, eyes on me, wondering what exciting thing we're going to do next. 

And it's easy to teach this to your dog, especially when he's a pup. Show him the treat, say the word SIT, and slowly move the treat up and over his head. He'll follow it with his eyes, and as he shifts his weight back, his puppy butt will go into a sit. Treat immediately and praise praise praise. Take a step back yourself so he gets up to follow you, and say SIT again. 

Run through this three to five times and when you think he's got it, ask him to SIT and then just wait for him to do it -- You don't move, no talking, keep still.

He may sit right down like an old pro. So smart! 

He may wonder why you're not flying that treat over his head this time. Give him a moment to think about it. Let him run through some experiments: jumping, sniffing around, barking. He's trying to figure out what will get that treat from you. Say it once more SIT -- but only once. Then just wait. 

If he doesn't seem to understand, go back to guiding him with the treat a few more times. 

There will be a magic moment when you say SIT and he does, right away. Treat immediately, big praise and then go do something else. Get a toy and play, or go outside -- keep playing with your pup, but training is over.  

Your dog has learned:

1. You say a word that means something.

2. If he does the thing, he gets a treat.

3. Then more fun things! 

But why stop just when he's getting it? Because you want to keep it interesting and fun. He's just discovered that of all the sounds you make, there's one that he understands! Just think of how magical that is. 

Later on, you can try it again. And once he's got it, then this happens: 

SIT is how the proper dog says "Please". 

You want the treat? Sit. 

You want the door opened? Sit. 

You want me to throw the ball? Sit.

You want up on the couch? Sit. 

You want your dinner? Sit.

Every single thing your dog wants from you is a reward he earns by saying please -- sitting. And he will be so excited to show off! You might start to notice times when your dog will ask for things on his own -- like dropping a toy at your feet and then sitting. He's politely inviting you to play! 

But what on earth does sitting have to do with walking? 

Oh, I'll get to that next time! 

The Magic and Science of Walking (Part Two)

Dogs are very good at training humans, have you noticed that? Here's a scenario:

Tyler comes home from work and he's exhausted. He gets a cold beer from the fridge and opens the door to the back patio. His dog Sport goes outside with him. Tyler sits back in a deck chair. He wants to drink his beer and relax. Sport is sniffing around taking care of dog business. The neighbor is mowing the lawn. It's a nice sunny afternoon. Tyler takes another swig of beer and sighs happily, closing his eyes.

Then he feels hot breath on his face. He looks, and there's Sport by his side. Tyler pats Sport and smiles. Sport picks up a muddy tennis ball and looks hopefully at Tyler. How about a game of fetch? Tyler shakes his head. "Sorry pal, I'm beat. I just want to sit for a bit."

Sport drops the muddy ball in Tyler's lap and wags his tail.

Tyler drops the ball beside his chair. "Not now, Sport. Maybe later."

Sport barks. He's got a really loud bark, that dog. And it's piercing and insistent. ARF ARF ARF!

Tyler sighs, picks up the ball, and throws it. Sport chases after it. Hooray!

Here's another scenario:

Janine and her friend Kate are sitting in the living room talking about the movie they're going to see that night. Janine's dog Teeka comes in and jumps up on the couch next to her. Janine moves over so Teeka can have more room.

See how well those dogs have trained their humans? Tyler said no at first but Sport insisted and eventually Tyler did what Sport asked.  And Teeka has Janine so well trained that Janine didn't hesitate at all before making room for her.

Can you think of any tricks your dog has trained you to do?

Humans are pretty agreeable, generally. Moving over to make space for a friend to sit is normal behavior for us. And we're smart. We can understand that barking dog wants us to play. So it's reasonable that we take these steps that make it easier to exist alongside our pets.

Now think about this: how often do you ask your dog to pay attention to you?

I'm not asking how much time you spend with your dog. I'm asking about intent. When he comes over with a ball or pushes his head into your lap to get petted, he's getting your attention. When he chews on a shoe or chases the cat and you scold him, he's getting your attention. How often do you ask him to pay attention to you?

When you call him in from the yard, how many times do you have to call him before he responds? 

When you ask him to sit, how many times do you ask before he does it? Does he look to see if you have a treat first? Dogs have sure got us bamboozled!

Let's get that dog's attention! It all starts with the most basic trick in the world: sit.

So that's the next step: Get your dog's attention with the magic of SIT.

That's it for now. Spend the next few days noticing how your dog has you trained and I'll be back soon with Part 3. 

The Magic and Science of Walking. (Part One)

I walk a lot of dogs every day. In fact, I estimate I've done over 35,000 dog walks since I started this business. In that time, I've managed to learn a few things: how to keep dry walking all day in a downpour; how to get a pill into a struggling shih-tzu without getting bitten; how far I can drive on a gas tank pointing to "E". But the one thing I've learned that serves me best is how to get a dog to walk nicely on leash.

It's one of my main dog rules: Don't pull me down the street. I don't want to come home at night with my arms longer than when I left home in the morning. 

And everyone seems so delighted and surprised when I do it. "Rover never behaves that well for me!" they gasp in wonder. One client showed me her entryway closet full of collars, harnesses, leashes, and gadgets and said "Use whatever you like. She pulls like crazy. Just try to control her the best you can. I'm sorry." 

So today, because I'm feeling generous, I'm going to talk about how I get my dogs to behave so nicely. Are you ready for this? 

I ask them to.

That's it, really. 

No, I'm not kidding. 

Meet Lisa and Curly, an imaginary woman and dog I've chosen to illustrate by this typical photo I found with a Google search. Lisa wants to go for a walk with Curly, so she's got Curly in a sensible flat buckle collar attached to a basic leash; all ready for a nice walk outdoors. 

Then they step outside, and...

Ugh, Lisa says, as she scrambles after her dog. Why is Curly like this? I hate this!

Curly doesn't have any idea this is wrong. Curly thinks this is what a walk is -- walks have always been like this for him. Sure, it's a little uncomfortable, with Lisa dragging behind him and he probably wishes she could run faster, but he gets to sniff all the good things, chase after squirrels and bicycles, and pee on things.

Lisa is miserable, of course, and I don't have to explain her feelings, because if you have a dog like this, you already know.  

Curly doesn't know that Lisa is unhappy. She's behind him yelling "Curly! Curly! Slow down! Stop it! Curly!" But she always does that, and Curly doesn't speak English so to him it's just exciting noise that adds to the fun. 

Lisa needs to ask Curly to do things differently. 

Remember a few posts back I talked about how to hold a leash? (If you don't remember, take a look now. I'll wait.)  Lisa needs to hold the leash using both hands. Why is this important? Because it gives her an advantage and it's SCIENCE. 

Newton -- yeah, the apple on the head guy-- tells us that the amount of gravity something possesses is proportional to its mass and distance between it and another object. In other words, when Lisa lets Curly have all that length of leash, she's increasing the amount of "pull" he can put on her. Curly can hit the end of that long leash with a pretty substantial amount of force. When Lisa shortens the leash and brings Curly closer to her, he is easier to control.

Look at this picture, at that short length of leash the dog has. He's being kept right by his walker's side, where he should be. He can still sniff and explore and relieve himself. He's not getting underfoot or tangled, and he can't use his weight to increase his forward momentum with as much force. 

That's the first step: Both hands. Shorten the leash. Keep your dog close.

Now I'm gonna go have some lunch and then walk some more dogs. Stay tuned for the next part!