Introducing Dogs and Babies Part One

00.03 in and, babies, Dog, dogs, introducing, one, part

My wonderful friend, Kathy Nolasco, is getting ready to welcome her first child into the world.  Well, her first human child that is.  Kathy is also the proud parent of a beautiful German Shepherd Dog named Linda.  Which is what prompted Kathy to send me a message the other day, the gist of which was "How do we introduce our dog to the baby?"

Its a question I get a lot, at least from those who are expecting, or know someone who is.  So I thought Id share my answer with everyone.

A little background first.  Kathy and her husband Gerson have a one-year-old female German Shepherd, Linda, from the Dominican Republic (a Dominican Shepherd I tease her).  They are also expecting a baby boy in about 20 days, should he cooperate with his due date.  Kathy has made arrangements for Linda to stay with her parents while she is in the hospital after the baby is born, and they are already planning on bringing baby blankets to Linda so she can smell the baby before she meets him. 

But Lindas already nervous, and the baby hasnt even been born yet.  According to Kathy, Linda is scared of the new baby things in the house, especially the stroller and the swing.  So this is where the training needs to start.  Ill tackle part one - fear of the stroller and swing - in this post, and part two - introducing Linda to the baby - in a later post.

The first rule of training Linda to accept the new baby should be "100% positive."  Because we want the relationship between dog and baby to be a positive one, the training should always be positive too.  We dont want Linda to make any associations between bad things and the new baby.

To teach Linda to accept the baby stroller and swing, get some really yummy treats (PureBites, Natural Balance Rolled Dog Food, Charlee Bears, or Wellness Wellbites).  If she is clicker trained, grab the clicker, but if not, Kathy can tell her "yes" every time she would get a click (for more on clicker training basics see Karen Pryors website, clickertraining.com. Start out with either the stroller or the baby swing (tackle one before the other - the second time around will be easier). 

Lets say Kathy picks the baby swing.  Have the swing set up, but not activated.  Bring Linda into the room where the swing is, and the instant she looks at (or near) the swing, click (or say "yes!") and give her a treat.  Stand in such a way that Linda needs to look back to get her treat, away from the swing.  When she looks at the swing again, click and treat.  Repeat the exercise a couple more times, then take a big step towards the swing.  Kathy should click and treat for Linda looking at the swing, again, the instant they move towards it.  Do another 3 or 4 rounds, then move closer and closer.  Eventually they should be able to stand right next to the swing.

When Kathy is beside the swing, she should reward Linda for looking at the swing once or twice, but then hold off and see if shell voluntarily lean towards it, sniff at it or even touch her nose to it.  If she does, definitely click and treat!  Work on getting as much interaction as possible, without resorting to bribing or luring (an example of that would be putting the treat on the swing).  Be patient - it will pay off in many ways!

The first time Kathy moves Linda towards the swing the swing should be turned off, not moving at all.  Once Linda masters the exercise with the swing off, start over with the swing turned on low - bring Linda into the room and click and treat the instant she looks at the swing.  Continue progressing until there are no issues with the swing.  Then its time to move onto the stroller.

If Linda gets nervous at any point, things have gone a little too fast.  Keep things light and fun.  There dont need to be any commands, and dont force her at any point. This exercise is so effective because Linda is in control - something that goes a long way towards building confidence and eliminating fear.  By rewarding her every time she looks at the baby swing shell start to have a positive association with the swing.

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Introducing Dogs and Babies Part Two

14.53 in and, babies, Dog, dogs, introducing, part, two

Welcome to the world, Alex Nolasco!  Your mom and dad wanted some tips for introducing your dog, Linda, to you for the first time.  They want your meeting to be peaceful, so here are some things they can try:

• Dont feel the need to introduce Linda and Alex the instant Linda comes back to the house.  Let Linda get used to being home, let her smell and hear baby Alex crying and making all the strange noises a little person makes.  Allowing Linda time to take that in before the introduction will make things less stressful and should make the initial meeting of baby and dog less of a "big deal" for your dog.
• Practice "leave it" in as many different situations as you can.  Work on having Linda leave toys, food, trash, sticks, clothes - anything you can pick up and show her, anything she might possibly want.  Work on having Linda "leave it" in all different rooms of the house, outside in the back yard, standing in the kitchen, running down the hall - anywhere and anyway you can imagine.
• Keep the dog & baby times short and sweet.  When you do introduce Linda and Alex, separate them after a minute or less.  The same goes for the next time they meet, and the time after that.  When you do separate them, always take Linda away from the baby, not baby away from Linda.  This is especially important if Linda has gotten overly excited or pushy, or if she is not reacting well.
• Practice "Off," the command that means "4 On The Floor," or dont jump up on anything (people, couches, counters, etc.).  Some people tell their dogs "down" for this, but if you use the command "down" to mean "lie down," then there should be a separate command for not jumping up.
• Practice "Down Stay."  Focus on improving Lindas ability to stay in a down position with greater distance, duration and distractions.  This will be very useful as baby Alex grows, and even now.  Having a dog that you can "park" on a dog bed and know shell stay put is a great convenience!  Keep it fun and successful for her though, "down stay" can be a boring and frustrating exercise for a dog unless it is taught slowly and with a lot of patience and praise.
• Consider teaching Linda to stay off the couches and beds, if you havent already.  Boundaries are important to a dog, and knowing that she wont accidentally jump directly onto a sleeping baby that she didnt see is good piece of mind.
• Make sure Linda gets plenty of exercise, mental stimulation and positive training.  Take moments during the day to spend a few minutes throwing the ball, practicing some obedience training, giving her a stuffed Kong, or taking her for a leisurely "sniff all you want to" walk.  This will help keep her in a good frame of mind, and reduce some of the stress she will feel from all the changes at home.  Daddy, this is a good place for you to be involved!
• Dont allow Linda to pick up or play with any of baby Alexs toys, clothes, pacifiers or any other baby things.  Dog toys are for the dog, everything else is for the people.  Its about respect, safety and consistency.
• Practice "Out."  This command means leave the room or the area.  Its pretty useful if your dog is encroaching on your space, begging, or just getting in the way.  It sounds kind of rude, but if she is trained to it well Linda wont be offended, and with a new baby there are just some times that having a dog under your feet is not what you want.

Enjoy your puppy baby Alex!  I hope that you have many wonderful years of a boy and his dog - its a magical bond that I am excited for you to have.

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Clicker 101 Part One

08.29 in 101, clicker, Dog, one, part

Have you heard about clicker training, but dont know what it is?  How it got started?  Why they are used?  What all the fuss is about?  And, hey, are they worth it, or is the clicker just another gizmo youd be forced to juggle, as if the dog, leash, treats and poop bags werent enough?!

Ill start with some of the history of clicker training, and what it does, and then (in the interest of brevity, so this post stays short enough for you to read and me to write) Ill go into more detail in follow up posts.  Like how to use a clicker, and common concerns about clicker training.  Ill probably throw in a video at the end, so you can see clicker training in action and decide for yourself what you think of it (though I think trying it with your dog for a few weeks is the best way to give it a true trial).

So, where did clicker training begin? The concept originated around the time of WWII with Marian Kruse and Keller Breland, students of the famous B. F. Skinner.  They used clicker training to teach a wide animals including pigeons, cats and dolphins.  Its use in training marine mammals took off (instead of a click trainers use the high pitched whistle we now associate with Flipper and Shamu, but the concept is the same), but clicker training still hadnt really made it to dogs.

One behavior expert was using clicker training with dogs though, and in 1992 Karen Pryor put on a seminar in San Diego, California that would change the face of dog training forever.  Along with her book, Dont Shoot the Dog, Pryor began to spread awareness of clicker training and the fantastic results it could bring when teaching obedience commands or modifying behavior.

The basic principles of clicker training are quite simple.  The "click," that sound made by the clicker, becomes what is known as a conditioned reinforcer.  It is a sound that initially means nothing to a dog; it is quite literally just a click.  But, after repeated pairings with food rewards, the click begins to take on meaning.  It starts to mean "Yes! You got it right!"  It means food is coming, even if you cant see it yet.  And it means "All done!" that whatever behavior they have been working on is complete.

How does one sound come to mean so much to a dog?  Thats where the "conditioned" part of conditioned reinforcer comes in.  Lets use dolphins as an example.  Its one of my favorites, as you know if youve learned clicker training with me.  Training a dolphin offers some unique challenges.  You cant put a choke collar on a dolphin and make it mind.  You cant flip it over and pin it to the ground, exerting your "dominance" over him, the way some famous "trainers" would. (Since we cant express sarcasms well in the written word, let me just insert that here. I do not advocate choke collars or dominating your dog, or any creature for that matter.  Sarcastic sneer noted.)

Dolphins also swim much better than we do, which makes it hard for us to be near them when they are performing tricks.  Training dogs is starting to sound pretty easy, right? Clicker training (or "marker training" - a more general term that can include other types of sounds like the whistle that marine mammal trainers are likely to use) helps with dolphin training in many ways.  First, by giving the dolphins a consistent, easy to recognize cue that means the dolphin has done something right, we improve communication and thus speed up training.  Marking the exact moment a dolphin performs also allows the trainer to reward for increments of behavior, not just the final product. 

Finally, the whistle acts as a bridge (lots of fancy terms this time!).  A bridge (in normal-person language) is a way to increase the amount of time between when the behavior is performed and when the reward is received, without ruining the animals understanding of why they are being rewarded.  Think of a dolphin learning to jump up and touch a ball suspended 20 feet above the pool. (I have no idea about dolphin training, and its been a while since Ive seen a show, so forgive me if my example is totally inaccurate.)  It would be nearly impossible to get a fish to the dolphin at the exact moment that he touches the ball, since the dolphin is way out in the middle of the pool (and 20 feet in the air!) and the trainer is stuck on their little platform.  If the dolphin doesnt get his fish within a few seconds of performing the behavior, he wont connect the two.  Enter marker training (clicker training if you missed all the bouncing around with terminology)!  Because the dolphin has been conditioned to know that the whistle means a fish is coming, the trainer blows the whistle at the exact moment the dolphin touches the ball and, bingo!  Dolphin makes the connection and learns the new behavior.  And you and your friends pay an arm and a leg to see his show.

What does all this mean for you and your dog?  Clicker training isnt just a gimmick, but an effective method based on scientific learning principles.  Using a clicker allows you to be clear and consistent in your communication about when your dog has done something right, and also allows you to break a behavior into smaller parts as they are learning.  And once your dog is conditioned to the clicker, you can afford more time between the time the dog does a behavior and the time your get the reward to him.

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Tug gets part in NBC commercial

23.10 in commercial, Dog, gets, in, nbc, part, tug

Tug gets a part in an NBC commercial, the trick they wanted was a dog chasing his tail. Splash tried out for the same commercial, but she did her tail chasing in too of a sophisticated manner, and so the gig went to Tug who does it in a very demented fasion.

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