Train Your New Dog

Six months after adopting Sam, I found out the likely reason why he had been hit by a car. Sam had severe thunderphobia, running blindly, scratching at doors, digging up flooring, and jumping baby gates at even the faintest rumble. After the first few storms of the season Sam saw a veterinary behaviorist who determined that in addition to thunderphobia, he was also very insecure and uncertain of his place in my household “pack”. In addition to medications, we began a program called NILIF, an acronym standing for nothing in life is free. This approach, while not resolving Sam’s fears has proven to be very effective in reducing them to a manageable level.

NILIF is a behavior modification technique that provides structure, helping any dog understand their place in the pack, below their owner. Establishing a reliable hierarchy using these methods allows insecure dogs to feel more secure knowing they have a pack leader, and shows the more dominant that they are not pack leader. Implementing NILIF is straightforward, but should be done only after consultation with a veterinarian, to make certain it is appropriate for your dog. The concept is easy, but results will not be immediate. Simply put, to get anything, your dog has to do something to earn it, he or she has no rights to just get what they want.

In Sam’s case he would hop up on the sofa next to me and nudge my arm until I stroked him, elevating his position in the pack to equal, or greater than mine. I started by simply ignoring Sam’s demands, not reacting when he nudged me, stroking him on my terms when he was not demanding my attention. At the start, Sam seemed to deteriorate, becoming more pushy, even stressed and upset at my sudden lack of response. The hardest part at this time was to not respond in any way – doing so would have told Sam that he could still get what he wanted when he wanted. It took several days, but gradually things changed.

Now Sam stays on the floor until invited onto the sofa, and has to sit before he can jump up, thus working for his reward. There are similar requirements for other areas of Sam’s life, for examples he eats after me and has to sit and shake his paw before being allowed outside. Interestingly, without addressing the thunderphobia directly, Sam seems more at ease and better able to deal with these stressful events. Yes, he still becomes very anxious during storms, but he is nowhere near as destructive, because he now knows he has a reliable pack leader.

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The down command is a basic command that all dogs should be taught, but is one that may take time and patience to develop, as lying down is an act of submission for your dog. A dog should be taught to sit before you begin to train the down command.

There are different ways to train a dog to lie down. Some trainers advocate taking hold of the dog’s front legs and pushing them into a sit, then standing on their leashes close to the collar to keep them down. This is a negative way to train and is not recommended. Positive methods, including luring and clicker training, encourage your dog to think for themselves and develop a stronger bond between you and them.

1. Make certain you have some tasty treats. Have your dog sit, then take a treat and show it to your dog, holding it just in front of their nose. Move your hand down until it is on the floor, then move it slightly away from your dog, making an invisible L shape.

2. Hopefully your dog will have followed the treat and will have lain down. If they have, give the treat and lots of praise. If not, move the treat further in front of them to see if they will stretch out and lie down. If they do, reward and praise, if not then stop the exercise, release the dog and try again.

3. As your dog learns to follow the treat and lies down every time, you can add the down command as you begin the exercise. As your dog become more proficient, stop luring, give the down command and only give the treat when they lie down. Vary when you give rewards, do not treat every time. Keeping treats random keeps your dog guessing, wondering when the next treat will come. Finally, lengthen time between giving the command and the release command and treat or praise.

Repeat the exercise several times, but keep the total training session to less than 15 minutes to avoid boredom. Remember to always use a release command (e.g. OK, finish, done) every time to let your dog know they can relax.

Teaching your dog to lie down should always be positive and fun and should be a regular part of your routine. In addition to formal sessions you can practice at random times during the day – just ask dog to lie down and praise when they do.

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Many dogs don’t like their feet being touched, let alone their nails being cut. If your dog isn’t used to nail trimming you may need to spend time just getting your dog used to you holding their feet, having your vet or groomer cut their nails. When you start, you may find you can only cut one or two nails at a time. As your dog gets used to the experience you increase the number until you can cut them all in one session.

Before starting, you will need clippers, styptic powder or silver nitrate sticks, and a nail file. Have your dog sit or lie down, whichever is more comfortable for them. If using guillotine style clippers, slide the ring over nail with screws facing towards the dog. Hold the clipper so the moving blade is perpendicular to the nail, and will cut from the bottom to the top. With scissor type clippers hold them so they also cut from the top to the bottom of the nail.

For dogs with light colored nails, cut close to where you see the pink vein. For black nails you should cut only small amounts at a time, looking at the cut edge as you go. When you see the color change from a gray/black to translucent, stop; this is the quick and the nail is as short as you can get it without causing bleeding.

If you do cut the nail too short and it bleeds, use either a silver nitrite stick (cauterises the vessel) or styptic powder (a clotting agent) placed on the end of the nail to stop the bleeding. If you have neither at home can use corn starch, however it will take longer for the bleeding to stop.

After cutting, use the nail file to round and smooth roughened edges.

Some dogs prefer having their nails sanded rather than clipped. You can use a tool specifically made for sanding dog nails, or you can use a grinding attachment on any hand held rotary tool. As with clipping, you may need to start gradually until your dog becomes accustomed to the sound and feel of the grinder.

Nails should be trimmed regularly as long nails can be uncomfortable for your dog and can increase the risk of toe injuries. A good guide is when you hear them tapping as your dog walks. With regular trimming, you should find that nails can be trimmed shorter as the quick recedes.

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The first thing to remember is that dogs bark, it is the way they communicate. They bark for a variety of reasons, not to frustrate you or irritate your neighbors. Dogs will most commonly bark as an alert if they see or hear something that is unusual, or if they feel threatened, If they are anxious or excited and if they are bored or want attention.

When you have determined why your dog is barking you can start addressing the problem. For many dogs, barking can be reduced, if not stopped by giving your dogs lots of physical and mental exercise. Try to provide an hour of exercise every day in the form of walks, playtime and training sessions. If your dog is barking because they are bored, then provide items of interest such as toys, or a Kong stuffed with treats. If they are crated, keep the time they are confined to a minimum.

Training a dog to stop barking can take some time, so you need to be patient and remain calm. No matter how much your dog barks, do not go to them to comfort or scold them, doing so will reinforce their barking, the very thing you are trying to stop. Never tell your dog to be quiet by shouting at them, they will interpret this as you barking at them and will bark back.

The first step in teaching your dog to be quiet is to decide what barking is acceptable and what is not. Do you want your dog to bark when they see strangers? Are you ok with him barking when they need to go outside? Also look at your dogs environment and wherever possible remove them from situations where they bark. For example, if your dog barks when out in the yard; keep them inside when you are not around to supervise them.

Training your dog to be quiet

1. Decide on a command that you will give to let your dog know to stop barking (e.g. quiet or no bark).

2. Take a container and put some coins or pebbles in it. Have some treats available in your pocket or a treat bag. When your dog barks let them do so for a couple of seconds then say your chosen command once, at the same time shaking the container. The noise should attract your dogs attention and stop them barking. As soon as they are quiet, give praise and a tasty treat. You can also provide further distraction by having your dog sit or lie down a couple of times.

3. Keep your container and treats readily available and repeat whenever your dog barks. As your dog learns to be quiet, start working in other situations where your dog barks (e.g. when people walk past, or neighborhood dogs bark), remembering to praise and reward for being quiet. Be careful not to reinforce the barking instead of being quiet.

Training your dog to stop barking excessively is not a quick fix. It will take time, but you should start to see a change within a few sessions. If your dog continues to bark you should talk to your vet or get the advice of a veterinary behaviorist.

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