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ANIMAL TRAINING & COMMUNITY CENTER



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ANIMAL TRAINING & COMMUNITY CENTERSIDEWALK PSYCHOS


MASSAGEMassage can be relaxing for both species and helps to build a trusting relationship. Start practicing this relaxation exercise on a mat at home first so when you attempt this in the classroom, your dog has had some practice.

• Lure your dog into a down position on a crate mat or a towel.

• It’s easier if you can get your dog into a more relaxed down (ie. weight is shifted to one hip) rather than a straight down. Use the treat lure to do this or if your dog is okay being handled you can physically help him shift his weight.

• If you are having trouble getting your dog to lay down, practice this when he is laying down on his own to start.

• Once he’s laying down, you may deliver a few slow, food rewards to keep him in that position, gradually adding more and more time in between each treat. Make sure you have a treat pouch on or have the treats out of sight (on a counter somewhere) so your dog isn’t fixating on it.

• Now start using slow, light circular motions to massage your dog. The pressure should be pretty light - just enough to move the skin and fur around. You may start with the shoulders or the hips and see what your dog seems to really like. The goal is for your dog to become so relaxed that he closes his eyes and possibly lays on his side.

EAT TO CHILL OUTIt’s important for dogs to learn how to “do nothing” - even in the presence of things that may excite or worry them. Once the body feels relaxed, stress levels will decrease and learning can take place. Start teaching your dog this concept indoors with your dog on a leash.

• Start with your dog on leash or in a small, enclosed space.

• Get a handful of treats and either lure or cue your dog into a down position. (Note: If you are having trouble getting your dog to lay down, put your foot on their leash so there is some gentle pressure and wait - be patient! Eventually they will have to get tired and lay down and then you can proceed.)

• As soon as they lay down, put your hand with a treat in it right between their paws.

• As soon as they start to sniff of lick your hand, let go of the treat so they can eat it without getting up.

• Before they finish the first treat, add another one in the same place, keeping your hand there for a moment so their nose stays down.

• Repeat this - adding another treat and another before they finish the first one so they are continuing to sniff or lick the ground.

• After a few moments, get another treat ready but don’t put it down yet. Hold it behind your back and wait for your dog to look up.

• Wait until your dog glances back at the ground, and as soon as they do, pull out the treat and feed it to them on the ground.

• If your dog gets up, thats okay! Wait for them to look at the ground, and then feed the treat. Then, cue or lure them back into the down and repeat.

• Slowly increase the amount of time between treats as your dog gets better at lying down and staying calm.

RELAXATION & MASSAGE

Helping your dog to physically relax around other dogs will help change his mental state. Make sure to practice these relaxation exercises at home where your dog is comfortable and there

are no dogs present before the first class.

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UNDER-THRESHOLDWHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE

• Loose and relaxed body posture

• Mouth and ears are soft

• Dog is responsive to handler and can respond to known cues

• Is able to disengage (look away) from stimuli easily

HOW TO WORK YOUR DOG

1. In this state, your dog can handle seeing another dog although it may be a fair distance away or just the sound of a dog tag jingling that they respond to.

2. Mark & Move: Mark when they notice the dog and then move away quickly and feed a high value food treat or pull out their favorite toy once you arrive.

AT THRESHOLDWHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE

• Stiffer body posture

• Ears pricked forward

• Mouth is tightly closed

• Weight shifted forward

• Having a hard time disengaging (looking away)


1. Increase the distance asap!

2. Call dog away with either a “This Way!” (u-turn) cue or a “Find it” cue.

3. If dog is still stuck, use your leash pressure/treat exercise to help him out.

4. If you move closer or the dog moves closer, he will react.

5. If your dog doesn’t respond to any of these things, toss a treat at his head or body block him/prevent him from looking at the stimuli and then cue a “Find it” when his focus is broken.

UNDER, AT AND OVER-THRESHOLD

Reading your dog’s stress level by observing their body language is very important. It will help shape your training expectations and the decisions you make on the street. Learn when your

dog is workable and when to just get away or distract him until the stimulus has passed.

OVER THRESHOLDWHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE

• Staring intensely

• Straining on leash

• Very rigid/tense posture

• No interest in food

• Growling

• Barking

• Lunging

• Charging


1. No learning is taking place when your dog is in this state so keep it simple: immediately and quickly increase the distance if you can.

2. If you are stuck - put yourself between your dog and the other dog and distract them by dropping a handful of treats on the ground away from the other dog.

3. You can also use a portable peanut butter or cream cheese dispenser as a “consolation prize” in this scenario. Harder for a dog to bark when they’ve got a mouth full of peanut butter!

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THE “FIND IT” GAME - LEVEL 1• Say “Find it” and immediately toss a treat for your dog to search for.

• As your dog goes to hunt for the treat, click.

• Repeat at least 10 times per day inside and outside your apartment when there are no dogs present.

FIND IT

Teaching your dog the “Find it” game is probably the easiest exercise you’ll ever have to do! It can be used when your dog is near-threshold but also should be used when your dog is under-

threshold, lest it become an indicator of another dog nearby.

THE “FIND IT” GAME - LEVEL 2• When your dog is reliably hunting (ie. scanning the floor for the treat)

then you can withhold the marker and the treat until they do the behavior.

• Cue “Find it” and wait for your dog to hunt/scan before clicking.

• Once you’ve clicked, then toss a treat.

• Now you have a dog who sniffs/hunts for a treat on cue without a treat actually being tossed.

• Note: The reason this works so well is that it’s a guarantee that your dog is going to get a “freebie!” So don’t cue this unless you have something to toss for your dog.

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MANAGEMENT & TRAINING IN TIGHT SPACES

DOORWAYS AND THRESHOLDSDoorways and thresholds can be stress-producing for dogs who are reactive. They may have a history of surprise run-ins hap-pening there or they may simply be anxious because they have associated going outside with seeing other dogs. Teaching and instilling self control when exiting your apartment and entering a your hallway is very important.

• Until your dog knows how to “Wait” at all thresholds, toss a handful of treats behind you as you open your apartment door. While your dog is busy eating treats off the floor behind you, pop your head out to see if there are any threats around the corner or in the hallway.

• Say “Okay” when your dog is done eating the treats you tossed behind you and toss another one or two into the hallway to prevent him from rushing to the end of the leash. Do this every time you exit your apartment ” for one week. After one week, fade the amount of treats until you are eventually down to 1-2.

HALLWAYSNarrow hallways present a set of challenges as the don’t often provide enough comfortable space for your dog to pass by other dogs. For now, if you hear another dog in the hallway, avoid, and lay this groundwork so that when your dog is ready, he will be able to cope in this environment.

• In all hallways, toss a treat after almost every step to keep your dog interested in you. If ever something was to happen in the hallway, your dog has a better chance of recovering faster as he’ll have a positive association with the space.

• He will also be looking up to you for treats - hello eye contact! If you see a dog and there is nowhere to hide to keep your dog under his threshold, RUN as fast as you can to quickly get by.

ELEVATORSDogs form associations very quickly and if they’ve ever seen another dog in an elevator (which is small) they will likely be anxious every time they enter the space. This usually manifests in lunging or rushing towards the door either before it opens or as it is opening.

• Once you hit the elevator button, retreat so you are out of sight of the doorways and give your dog a job to do like “Find its.”

• When the elevator door dings, toss a treat away from the doorway so you can peek around to see if there are any dogs in there first. If there

are - say “We’ll get the next one!” and toss another treat to keep your dog busy. If it’s empty, say “Okay!” to your dog and enter the elevator.

• For small dogs entering elevator: you can teach an “Up” cue (to jump up) or say “Up” and pick them up and give them a treat. Catching them before they are over their threshold is key so it’s important to pick them up right away. Often small dogs feel safer being carried so they will generally be less stressed and reactive if being held. If a dog enters, feed a constant stream of treats until threat is gone, turning their eyes away if needed - stay calm!

• For large dogs entering elevator: immediately position them with their nose facing a back corner by tossing a treat there. Continue tossing treats down the “treat chute” for the entire ride for one week until your dog is sticking their nose in their automatically. Then you fade to just 1-2 treats per ride. This will ensure your dog’s nose is facing away from the doorway and will enable you to control his exit.

• Anytime the elevator door opens, pair with a treat to associate positive things with the sound. All it takes is one trial of a dog entering to change your dog’s perception of what that sound means!

• If the door opens and a person with a dog is there FEED your dog and ask if they would mind taking the next one. The head halter is extremely useful in controlling your dog in these situations especially with large dogs.

• Peanut butter or cream cheese in a tube or in a Kong is a great way to keep your dog focused/busy in the elevator.

LOBBIESOften dogs run into each other in lobbies so this environment can be highly charged due to history.

• If you can avoid your lobby during training - do so! Ideas include: taking the elevator to the second floor and using the stairs to go out or taking a service elevator.

• If you have to use your lobby - move quickly! Teaching “Let’s go” and some attention heeling skills (in your apartment first) will prove very useful in this highly arousing environment.

• Peanut butter or cream cheese in a tube is also a great choice for this environment as you can sometimes get a dogs mouth stuck to the dispenser no matter what else is happening.

Walking your reactive dog in New York City is challenging and there will be scenarios where you cannot control the distance you have between your dog and another. Here are some tips

for navigating doorways, elevators, hallways and lobbies.

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USING DISTANCE AS A REINFORCER

Proximity to another dog can be a functional reward that is very potent in helping increase your dog’s confidence and shaping his behavior around other dogs.

Question: You find yourself alone on the street late at night and a strange man is starting to approach you. He’s walking erratically and mumbling under his breath. I offer you two options: which co you choose?

A.) $1,000 or B.) I make the stranger disappear

Most people would pick choice B, right? Safety over money! This analogy should illustrate the difference between a functional rein-forcer (proximity to something scary) and a secondary reinforcer (currency - or for a dog, a high value food reward.) Good news - we can use both with our dogs while teaching new behaviors!

DISTANCE INCREASINGIf your dog is afraid of other dogs and is engaging in distance-in-creasing behaviors, letting him look away and then move away from the other dog is a great reinforcement.

• You can start by rewarding your dog with distance, plus a treat, for spotting other dogs on walks. This may not always be possible, but when it is - use it!

• Start by affixing the clicker to the end of your leash. (Make sure your dog is sub-threshold for this exercise - ie. if he can accept food at 20 feet away from another dog, work 20 feet and beyond.)

• Allow your dog to spot another dog at a safe distance away and immediately click. Your dog should look to you for the reward.

• Instead of treating your dog there, do a quick u-turn or cross the street away from the other dog, using gentle praise to keep your dog with you, and then pay when you are an even greater distance away from the other dog.

DISTANCE DECREASINGIf your dog wants to get to other dogs to interact, (and is barking because he is frustrated) then increasing the distance between him and another dog is a punishment, not a reinforcer. So instead when possible, you can use the dog getting closer to the other dog as the reinforcement - as long as they can remain calm.

• If your dog wants to get closer to other dogs, you can also begin by affixing the clicker to the end of the leash.

• When your dog notices another dog (sub-threshold) you will also click. Instead of turning and jogging away, you can do a “Find it” and take a few steps closer.

• Stop and wait for your dog to notice the dog again, and repeat, getting closer to the dog as the functional reward and using the “Find it” game to keep your dog calm.

• If he reacts, walking away can work as a punishment but remember that it may not prevent your dog from reacting next time. Better to work at a farther away distance until your dog is clear on what you want from him!

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ATTENTION

ATTENTION - LEVEL 1 - THE UP/DOWN GAME• Have several treats in your hand ready to go.

• Place or toss a treat on the ground in between your dog’s paws (regardless of what position they are in.)

• As they finish eating the treat, watch for any upward movement of the head and mark/treat - placing the treat in the exact same spot the first one was placed in.

• Repeat as quickly as possible (approximately 10-20 times) keeping your dog interested by luring with your hand upward if needed.

• When your dog is consistently turning their head upwards towards you, begin to only mark for higher head lifts and then eventually only for full eye contact.

• Now, let’s add the cue. As your dog is eating the treat on the floor say their name - just once - and mark/treat as they look up.

• Repeat with the cue 10 times.

ATTENTION - LEVEL 2 - ON CUE• Say your dog’s name when he is near you but not looking right at you

(mildly distracted.)

• Immediately mark, (click or “yes”) and treat when he looks towards you.

• He does not need to make direct eye contact, turning away from the distraction and towards you is enough for now.

• Be sure not to repeat your dog’s name several times if he is ignoring you; instead, wait a few seconds, decrease the distance between you and him or wait for him to be less distracted and try again.

Being able get your dog’s attention and focus away from another dog is important. Lay the groundwork by practicing this indoors and not using the cue around other dogs until your dog

is feeling relaxed and confident enough to perform behaviors.

ATTENTION - LEVEL 3 - WITH DISTRACTIONS• Allow your dog to look away from you and engage with something

mildly distracting at a distance. (Ie. people walking by outside/etc.)

• Say your dog’s name or your eye contact cue - just once.

• Immediately mark and treat when his head starts to turn back towards you and away from the distraction. He does not need to make direct eye contact yet - turning away from the distraction and towards you is enough for now.

• Don’t repeat your dog’s name if he is ignoring you; instead, wait a few seconds, decrease the distraction level and try again.

• Work up to getting full eye contact in that context.

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SIT & DOWN

SIT - LEVEL 1 - LURING FROM STAND• Place a small treat lure against your dog’s nose while he is in a standing

position.

• Slowly lure his head/nose up and back until his rear touches the floor; mark (click or “yes”) and release the treat.

• Lure dog into behavior three to four times as quickly as you can, marking (click or “yes”) and rewarding each time.

• When you think your dog is catching on, put the treat in your non-cuing hand behind your back and try the same signal with no food; mark “yes” and treat, delivering the reward from the hand behind your back; this begins to teach your dog not to rely on food in the hand as a cue.

• Begin to turn your luring motion into a hand signal by covering the treat lure with your thumb and moving it up and over your dogs head; do this several times successfully without saying sit!

SIT - LEVEL 2 - VERBAL CUE/HAND SIGNAL• Put both hands behind your back and ask your dog to “sit” (you should

have access to a reward but it should not be waving around in front of your dog’s face.)

• Wait one second and if they don’t sit, cue your hand signal.

• Mark and drop the reward on the ground so your dog has to get up to get it.

• Repeat five or six times until your dog begins to sit when hearing the verbal cue.

• Remember not to do a hand signal at the same time, otherwise you’ll have a combined cue! The verbal cue should be completely separate so you can use it on it’s own.

SIT - LEVEL 3 - WITH DURATION• Cue your dog to sit but don’t mark/treat when his rear hits the ground,

instead, pause and count to 2 silently in your head.

• Mark/treat after 2 seconds - while he’s still in position - and then say “okay!” and toss a treat away to get him to stand up.

• Repeat, working up to longer durations (goal: 10 seconds) but always mixing in some easy ones so your dog doesn’t get bored.

DOWN - LEVEL 1 - LURING FROM SIT• Place a small treat against dog’s nose while he is in a sit and lower it

slowly towards the ground, luring his nose down between his paws.

• When his nose is at the ground, begin to pull the lure slowly out towards you so that he is following it.

• Mark (click or “yes”) when dog’s elbows hit the ground and he is laying down, toss the treat out so he has to break the down to get it.

• Repeat five or six times in quick succession and begin to transition to a hand signal by putting the food lure in your palm and covering it with your thumb (the down hand signal is typically a flat palm towards the ground.)

DOWN - LEVEL 2 - VERBAL CUE/HAND SIGNAL• Put both hands behind your back and say “down” to your dog (you

should have access to a reward but it should not be waving around in front of your dog’s face.)

• Pause for one second - if they don’t lay down, cue your dog’s known hand signal.

• Mark (click or “yes”) and drop the reward on the ground so your dog has to get up to get it.

• Repeat three to four times.

• Now, say the verbal cue and wait. At the first sign of a “down” click and treat your dog!

• Repeat until your dog is laying down upon hearing “down” without a hand signal!

DOWN - LEVEL 3 - WITH DURATION• Cue your dog to lay down but don’t mark/treat when his rear hits the

ground, instead, pause and count to 2 silently in your head.

• Mark/treat after 2 seconds - while he’s still in position - and then say “okay!” and toss a treat away to get him to stand up.

• Repeat, working up to longer durations (goal: 10 seconds) but always mixing in some easy ones so your dog doesn’t get bored.

Sit and down are both basic behaviors that can help give your dog a default behavior to do when unsure and can also help a dog relax. A dog that’s laying down is in a more relaxed body

position than a dog who is standing.

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HEAD HALTER & MUZZLE TRAINING

HEAD HALTER/MUZZLE TRAINING - LEVEL 1• Stick a treat in your palm (or use peanut butter on a spoon) and hold the

muzzle (or head halter) in your palm.

• In order to get the treat, your dog will have to stick his nose into the muzzle or through the head halter loop.

• When your dog is done licking the peanut butter or cream cheese, put the muzzle/halter behind your back.

• Repeat this sequence 5 times.

• When your dog is reliably sticking his nose into the muzzle with no lure you can move on to the next level.

HEAD HALTER & MUZZLE TRAINING - LEVEL 2• Take out the muzzle and have some high-value treats handy.

• Put the treats behind your back in one hand and put the muzzle behind your back in the other.

• Present the muzzle about 3-4 inches away from your dog’s nose.

• Mark/treat him if he looks at it or touches it with his nose.

• You can deliver the treat through the muzzle once he gets good at this.

• Try to gradually raise the criteria so that he’s putting his whole nose inside it.

• Once he’s doing that, delay your mark/treat until his nose has been in there for a second or two at a time.

HEAD HALTER & MUZZLE TRAINING - LEVEL 3• Put your dog’s head halter and muzzle on - making sure they either

stick their own nose into it or follow a lure - and feed high value treats intermittently while they are wearing the equipment.

• Take off the equipment as soon as the treats are finished.

• If your dog did well with this, next session add in some walking around and playing the “Find it” game. If your dog is wearing a Baskerville Ultra Muzzle he will be able to eat treats off the floor.

Getting your dog comfortable wearing a head halter and a muzzle for close up training around other dogs is a great tool to have in your toolkit. The idea of conditioning them to enjoy wearing the equipment is so that your dog will behave normally and the equipment won’t cause further stress.

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LEASH EXERCISES

TIGHTEN THE LEASHCondition your dog to enjoy the feeling of pressure on the leash with this easy exercise. Practice in your apartment and on walks with no dogs present.

• Hold your dog’s leash in both hands and position yourself facing the same direction as your dog. He should be standing at your side.

• Tense up with both hands on the leash (as if you’ve seen a dog!) and then remove one hand from leash to reach into your treat pouch and immediately feed your dog a high value treat!

• Repeat inside your apartment and on leash walks to help replace your dog’s association with feeling tension on the leash.

SILKY LEASHCondition your dog to respond to light pressure when you run your hand down the leash. This can eventually be used as a prompt when your dog is “stuck” but for now, it’ll just be used inside your apartment and when there are no dogs present on a walk.

• Hold your dog’s leash in both hands and position yourself facing the same direction as your dog.

• Slide the hand that’s closer to your dog down the leash lightly and when you get to their collar/chest remove it and reach into your treat pouch to immediately feed your dog a high value treat.

• Repeat this inside your apartment and on leash walks to teach your dog to look to you happily when they feel that light pressure on the leash.

• Once they are automatically looking up (in anticipation of a treat) you can start to add a marker word like “Yes” or “Good” before feeding the treat.

THIS WAY/U-TURNTeaching your dog to respond to a u-turn cue is essential as it allows you to quickly and calmly turn around to avoid scenarios you know your dog can’t handle. Practice 10 times per leash walk when there are no dogs around.

• Walk in your intended direction with your dog on a loose leash.

• Stop walking and turn towards your dog. If your dog automatically turns towards you, mark (with a click or “good!”) and jog/walk quickly in the opposite direction, using your hand to lure him with you if needed.

• If your dog just stops at the end of the leash and doesn’t turn towards you, stick your hand in front of his nose with a treat and lure him towards you and then in the opposite direction. Mark when he u-turns but wait to reward until you are at least 5 feet in the other direction.

• When your dog is reliably turning towards you or completely around when you stop, start adding the cue “This way!” just before you stop walking.

LET’S GO/STEP WITH A LOOSE LEASHThis fun exercise teaches your dog that when you say “Let’s go!” you’re going to go somewhere fun and they should definitely pay attention and follow you!

• With your dog standing next to you, say “Let’s go.” (Note: you may drop a treat behind you if your dog is already in front of you.)

• Take one deliberate, brisk step forward and mark/treat after the first step, as long as your dog doesn’t dash forward to the end of his leash.

• Now say “Let’s go” and take a step to the right or left - click/treat your dog in the same position.

• Gradually increase the number of steps in between clicks.

• If your dog starts pulling, stop and wait until there is some slack in the leash again. Then take a step with him and reward him quickly for walking near you.

• Keep him guessing. Sometimes reward after 1 step, sometimes after 2, then again after 1 again.

Start changing the association your dog has with feeling tension on the leash and also begin to teach the concept of loose leash walking and focus on walks. Your dog should be thinking

about you on walks and not scanning or looking for other dogs on walks.

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WAIT

WAIT FOR A TREAT• Start with a treat on the floor with your hand on top of it.

• If your dog just looks at the treat but doesn’t go towards it click, say “Okay!” and remove your hand from on top of the treat, encouraging your dog to eat it. If your dog immediately goes towards the treat, keep your hand over it until they back off and then click and say “Okay!”

• Repeat until your dog is not going for your hand at all and instead is waiting for you to say “Okay!” consistently.

• When this is going well, start waiting for eye contact. Only click and release your dog to get the treat when they are looking at the treat and then looking at you.

• You can then start to remove your hand from the treat, challenging your dog even more - just remember to quickly put your hand back on top of it if they go for it!

• Put this on cue by saying “Wait” before you put the treat on the floor if you are willing to bet $100 that your dog will ignore the treat and look at you consistently each time.

Teaching wait is a great way to instill impulse control and is also a useful cue for telling your dog to stay in position until released. For reactive dogs, it’s a must as it helps reduce charging

through doors or being pushy with food treats.

WAIT AT A THRESHOLD• Put your dog on leash and crack your door open two inches or so. If your

dog moves towards the door, immediately close it. If your dog stays in position, click and feed him in position.

• Repeat 5 times until your dog can stay in position while you crack the door two inches or so. Then say “Okay!” and open the door all the way up, encouraging your dog to go through the door.

• Repeat every time you go out for a walk to reinforce the idea that your dog should stay in position while the door is cracked open until they hear “Okay!”

• Once this is easy for your dog, up the ante and open the door to about 12 inches. Remember - if your dog moves, immediately close it. If they stay in position, click/treat in position. Repeat a few times before saying “Okay!” and encouraging your dog to exit the threshold.

• Your goal is eventually to get all the way up to opening the door the entire way with your dog in position. When this is happening reliably, say “Wait” just before you open the door and instead of marking/treating just say “Okay!” and release your dog as the reward.

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