GAME 6. Help them feel SAFE!
Some dogs feel threatened in certain situations, people, other dogs, children, sounds. The strategies they use can often be inappropriate…barking, lunging, spinning to name a few!
We can help them feel safer and able to choose other strategies, and we do this through Naughty but Nice games!
The first one to get started with right now is MIDDLE! Middle involves your dog recalling to you and standing between your legs as a safe place! If your dog is too big, then try training a
GAME: Middle
1. We like to shape this trick, which means rewarding successive approximations of the final behaviour - or rewarding things your dog does that are closer and closer to the final behaviour in mind!
2. To do this, we mark and reward turns and steps towards behind us to start with, rewarding by placing the treat or toy behind us and eventually between legs.
3. Do this until your dog is consistently heading around your leg and then between your legs. At this point, placement of the reward should always be in the final position - between your legs.
4. Build duration into maintaining position between your legs by providing a rapid rate of reinforcement in this position. Then work on reducing the rate of reinforcement while your dog stays in one place.
5. Now work on the final behaviour, a sit! You can:
1) Shape the sit by marking and rewarding weight shifts
backwards until your dog sits.
2) Cue a sit, repeat a few times and then wait your dog out
for him/her to o er it.
3) Cue a hand target with your hand above your dog’s
head such that he/she sits when targeting.
GAME 7.Make household noises…NORMAL!
Through Boundary game training, we can incorporate household noises in to the training:
* Knocking at the door
* Saying “Hello”
* Telephone ringing
* People arriving
* Cars driving past
* Gates opening
* Washing machine’s spinning
* Doorbells ringing….etc
GAME: The Crazy Lady Game!
Pair these every day activities by following up with a calm reward delivery! For example, say a word…eg ‘hello’ and reinforce remaining calm with a calming marker word, eg. ‘Nice’ and a calm delivery of food reinforcement.
Add in other noises as confidence and calmness grows and get creative. Don't be scared to look CRAZY doing this around the house and even on walks!