Week 1 of The weekly trick challenge

Name of Trick

• What kind of Trick is it : Cute and Pointless
• Date Started: Aug 26th 2011
• Date Finished: Sept 2nd 2011
• Date Behavior was Completely Learned: we're still learning. My goal is for her to be at a distance backing up without my help.

Useful ~~~Pointless ~~~ Cute ~~~ Funny ~~~ Odd

How I plan on teaching the trick: I originally planned on using the behaviors back up and bow.

Pass or Fail. Success, we still have room for improvement, Next step distance!

What I actually did: I would stay I stuck to the plan.

If I failed what went wrong or what I would change: (remember I only have 1 week to learn this) I think I should work more time in the narrow space to get a straight walk back

Fading out the treats

Hello my name is Fido and I'm addicted to eating treats during training. 4 easy steps to get your dog out of treat addiction. ALL training tools if used correctly should be in and out in Four weeks. This includes treats, Anti-pull tools like Front clip harnesses, Head collars, Prong/Pinch Collars and Choke Chains. If we fail to fade out the training tool it's a failure and becomes a crutch. Ask a little kid whats two+two they say four gold star for them. Ask an adult the same question get the same answer but we won't be handing out gold stars to them. Why? Because they already know it. We use rewards as a motivator to learn faster. But once we know the behavior we no longer need it.

First Step:

With training with treats, we use the treats as a lure to get the dog to achieve a certain behavior. The dog follows the treat into the right position. Teach the dog the hand command first, after 9 out of 10 successfully behaviors with only the hand command. Adding the verbal command next. Once your dog is successful with both hand and command you can move to Second Step.

Second Step:

Time to be picky, using treat free hands ask your dog to do the behavior. Put the treats in your pocket, table, behind you, etc.pretty much out of sight from your dog. In this step you should reward your dog about 50% of the time. More you're being to picky less you're being too hard. Only reward the behaviors you like, for example Quick sits, Square sits, Cute sits, whatever you find appealing. Avoiding the slow and sloppy sits. Once your dog starts to give more than 50% of the wanted sits, start to combine the sits, like fast sit and square sits. Your dog will soon learn some behaviors work and some don't.

Third Step:

Take your time with this step. Be careful not to rush to this step. This step you will be removing treats completely and exchanging for life rewards, walks, toys, petting, dinner anything that motivates your dog besides treats. If your dog doesn't find it motivating it's not a reward. Sometimes high rewards in one place may not be high in another. Ask your dog for a behavior if he does what you're looking for give a life reward. Examples: Ask for a sit-down-sit on a walk, then continue on the walk. Sit-stay before you enter a dog park, Sit before throwing the ball, so your dog learns you might not have food on you, but you control the fun things in life.

Fourth and final step:

This step will come on its own. If you did step two and step three at, a correct pace, your dog now wants to do the behavior vs I have to do the behavior.

Ask someone who hates to run to run a mile, mostly they will fight it or take forever to get started. Its like pulling teeth. Now ask someone who loves to run to run a mile, no questions asked, they get up and do it maybe they're even ready to do it before you ask. This how you want your dog to react to a behavior

Using reward base training your dog learns to enjoy learning vs. learning out of fear. I'm not saying those methods ('dominant' techniques) don't work,cause sadly they do that's why they've been round for so long. But learning should be fun for both the human and the dog. Learning should build a bond. Learning shouldn't hurt.


Other Hints:

• Don't be afraid to give Jackpots in step Two. Three - six treats back to back for wonderful awesome behaviors. Your dog is more likely to repeat that behavior again.
• If your dog "forgets" the behavior don't be afraid to use the treats again but fade them out just as quickly. Sometimes its doesn't hurt to have a refresher.
• Any time you add anything new, like distance, distraction or duration reintroduce the treats. Thanks for putting up with me doing 'x' heres a treat.

Treat Suggestions

When Doing any kind of Positive Reinforcement Training you will be using a reward for your dog doing the correct behavior, in many cases its probably food. Reward based training is probably one of the most effective ways to teach to a dog a new behavior. Do you really think Marine animals like killer whales could be trained using the methods of harm? So if a very large marine mammal can be taught to open their mouth to brush their teeth and other behaviors using positive reinforcement training why can't we use the same methods on our dogs. Think of food, toys and play rewards as money for your dog. They can careless about the value of a dollar bill but give them a smelly treat and you're in business! The higher the "value" the treat the more willing we're gonna be to learn or do the behavior.

If someone asked you to move a stack of books to one corner of the room to another for a quarter. What do you think you'll do? Well depends on the person asking, What exactly they're asking for and if you feel like it. If I like you I will probably do it, but I'm not gonna rushing to do it. Now if someone asked me to do the behavior for $1. Same questions will apply. But I would probably more likely get up and do it or at least a little faster. What about $5? Now how about $100? Like you or not, I will move that stack of books pretty fast to get that $100 dollars. If I feel like it or not, I will still do it cause I want the reward. And if you kept on doing it will keep moving books around for more money Money makes the human world go round. So using different "value" treats will make your dog want to learn and keep repeating the behavior for you.

Each Value Level is based on a few things : The importance of the behavior, how well we know it, or how new the behavior is.

Here are some Treat Suggestions:

The Quarter - The behavior is either older or well known

• Kibble
• Cheerios or Other low sugar cereals
• Little to No Smell to them treats

The $1 Dollar - The behaviors that are semi well know or just basic. Most Commerical Brands are "dollar" Treats. Some of the Brands I enjoy using in classes

• Old Mother Hubbard- Small Biscuits or Training Bits
• Charlie Bears
• Carvers- Chicken Flavored (Break these treats into smaller pieces
• Nutro Natural Choice Crunchy Treats- Apple or Blueberry
• Pet Botanicals- Omega Treats or Training rewards
• Zukes
• Bill Jac

Human Foods that can be used

• Frozen Peas
• Carrots
• Cooked Pasta

The $5 Dollar Treats - The Really Smelly Treat

• Moo Moo Q's- Beef Lung
• Baa Baa Q's- Lamb Lung
• Freeze Dried Liver
• Freeze Dried Chicken
• Chicken Poppers

The $100 Dollar Treats - OMG! This is the best thing in the world Please please please I will do anything for these treats. Mostly Likely this are gonna be human foods

• Cooked Chicken
• Hotdogs
• Thawed Meatballs
• String Cheese
• American Sliced Cheese
• Cheese Balls

When using treats as rewards always remember to many can fill your dog up quickly and be unhealthy. When you have a full dog they're less motived by food and it slows down the learning process. Also Train a hungry dog when you can. For Small and Medium dogs treats should be roughly the size of their kibble or a pea. Larger dogs treats should never be bigger then the size of a nickel. Treats should always be the big enough to enjoy but quick and easy to eat. Please never give more then 25% of their diet in treats, I like to tell my students 10% of their diet is perfect balance. Also remember rewards don't always have to be food. Using other things your dog enjoys are just as likely to work. Take your dog off welfare make them work for anything you give them. Make them sit for greeting, for dinner, Petting for laying down,Have them stay for fetch just think of the endless possibility you can do for rewards for your dog.

• Fetch, Tug, Frisbee, Catch and other sources of play
• Vigorous petting and happy praise
• Squeaker toys
• Walks, games of tags and hide n seek
• Time on the Couch.
• Anything your dog enjoys

Here's a Collection of Different Kong Recipes. I searched all over the internet for Kong Recipes. Here are some that I found Enjoy! the following Kong stuffings are made with one or more human food ingredients:

CRUNCH 'N MUNCH: Combine crumbled rice cakes and dried fruit with some cream cheese and plain croutons.

PUMPKIN PIECES: Combine some plain yogurt, canned pumpkin, and cooked rice in a small baggie. Mix well inside the bag, then snip off a corner of the bag and squeeze it into the Kong toy. Freeze.

KIBBLE-SICLE: Put a glob of peanut butter into the Kong first. Then add some dry dog food. Pour in some chicken broth. Add some more peanut butter, followed by more dry dogfood. End with another glob of peanut butter at the very top. Freeze until solid.

OLD STANDBY: Soak some of your dog's regular food in water (or chicken broth) for a brief time before

CARB DELIGHT: Combine some canned dogfood with pasta noodles, rice, mashed potatoes, and some of your dog's dry dog food. Freeze.

NUT CRUNCH: Take 2-3 dog biscuits and crunch them a bit into very tiny bite-sized pieces. Add a couple spoonfuls of peanut butter. Then add a couple spoonfuls of plain yogurt. Mix in bowl until soft, but not runny.

VEGGIE OMELET: 1egg,Your choice of shredded cheese,Any veggies that your pet may like.Scramble egg and fold in veggies. Put into KONG toy. Sprinkle with cheese over the top and microwavefor about twenty seconds. Cool thoroughly before giving to pet.

BABYLICIOUS: Mix together some fat-free cream cheese, peanut butter, and either sugarfree applesauce or a jar of baby food (like bananas, carrots). Cram a solid food item into the small hole at the end of the Kong, then fill with the mixture. Seal the large hole with either more cream cheese or peanut butter.

FRUITOPIA: Combine applesauce with chunks of fruit. Freeze.

PUPPY TRAIL: Fill the Kong with some cashews (unsalted) and freeze-dried liver bits. Add some dry dog food and/or dog crushed dog biscuits and some Cheerios. Drop in a spoonful of peanut butter, followed by some dried fruit. Finally, top it off by using a piece of ravioli or tortellini to close the large opening.

RED ROVER: Smear the inside of the Kong toy with peanut butter. Put a tiny piece of apple into the small hole, then drop some more apple pieces in next. Drop in a scoop of peanut butter (or cream cheese), then drop in some dogfood or broken dog treats. Add another scoop of peanut butter (or cream cheese), then more apples. Plug the large opening with a final scoop of peanut butter (or cream cheese) and freeze.

FROZEN TUNA SALAD: Mix together well: 1 6oz can of light tuna, 2 T. plain yogurt, and 1/4 C. grated carrot. Spoon into KONG toy. Freeze. According to Linda G. of Mendham, NJ (as printed in the Aug '07 Kong Newsletter), "This treat is healthy and high in Omega-3 fatty acids which contribute to healthy skin and a glistening coat." it inside a Kong, then freeze.

MUTT & CHEESE: Melt a cube of Velveeta cheese in the microwave, until it's gooey -- not runny. Fill the Kong toy with cooked noodles. Pour cheese over noodles.

FROZEN BONZ: Mix up some bananas, unsweetened applesauce, oatmeal, peanut butter, and plain yogurt. Freeze.

Aunt Jeannie's Archeology KONG (for advanced dogs)
Fill your KONG toy (the larger the better!) in layers and pack as tightly as possible. LAYER ONE (deepest): KONG Stuff’N Beef and Liver treats. LAYER TWO: KONG Stuff’N Tail Mix or dry dog kibble, Cheerios, sugar-free, salt-free peanut butter, dried banana chips, apples and apricots. LAYER THREE: carrot sticks, turkey or leftover ravioli or tortellini. The last item inserted should be an apricot or piece of ravioli, presenting a smooth "finish" under the main opening. - by Jean Donaldson

CHEEZY DELIGHT: Combine small chunks of cheese (or cheese spread) with some dry dogfood and microwave until the cheese melts. Let it cool completely, then pour into the Kong toy. Freeze thoroughly.

ELVIS: Combine a ripe banana, 3 spoonfuls of peanut butter, and a slice of cheese. Mix until blended well. Fill the Kong and freeze.

MONSTER MASH: Instant mashed potatoes (without the salt) -- or leftover mashed potatoes from dinner -- mixed with crushed dog biscuits.

DOGGIE OMLET: Combine a scrambled egg, some beef, yogurt, cheese and mashed potatoes all together

FIBER CRUNCH: Combine bran cereal with some peanut butter.

KONGSICLE JERKY POPS: The equivalent of a popsicle... Seal the small hole of the Kong toy with peanut butter. Fill to the rim with water and a pinch of bouillon (or just use chicken broth instead). Place a stick or two of beef jerky inside. Freeze. (This one gets messy in a hurry, so it's recommended only for outdoor use.)

GOOEY CHEERIOS: Combine cheerios and peanut butter. Freeze.

FRUIT KITTY NOODLES: Mix together some dried fruit, cooked pasta, banana and dry cat food.

BANANA YOGURT: Plain yogurt and mashed bananas. (You can also add a little peanut butter or other fruits.) Then freeze it.

PEANUT BUTTER GLUE: Fill Kong 1/3rd full of dog food. Pour in melted peanut butter (after it has cooled from microwaving). Add more dog food, followed by more melted peanut butter until the Kong toy is full. Freeze until solid.

ROCK-HARD KIBBLE: Combine some of your dog's regular food with cream cheese, which acts as a cement, keeping everything inside.

STICKY BREAD: Smear peanut butter on a piece of bread. Fold it over and stuff inside the Kong. Mix together plain yogurt with some fruits or vegetables (carrots, celery) and pour inside. Freeze. The yogurt sticks to the bread holding everything together.

APPLE PIE: Squeeze a small piece of apple into the tiny hole. Fill the Kong with a small amount of plain yogurt. Add a few slices of mashed banana, more apple, yogurt, banana. End with a slice of banana and chunk of peanut butter on the top.

Smear some peanut butter on a slice of bread. Fold up the bread and cram it into the Kong. Freeze & serve.

Use your finger to line the inside of the Kong with something sticky (like peanut butter or honey) then toss medium-sized dog treats inside -- the kind that barely fit inside the hole and are hard to get out.

Try microwaving the peanut butter or cheese first -- this makes it runny and easy to pour into the KONG and leaves very little to waste. Then layer with another food item. Then freeze. The microwaved peanut butter & cheese fills every crack and crevice inside the Kong acting as a glue around the other ingredients making it much more challenging for your dog.

For the simplest Kong treat of all, just smear a little peanut butter or honey around the inside of the Kong. You'd be surprised how long your dog will work at this simple little treat.

Other Human Foods you can give your dog

• Apples
• Applesauce
• Apricots
• Baby Food(bananas, carrots)
• Bananas Beef(cooked)
• Beef Jerky
• Black Olives
• Bouillon
• Bran Cereal
• Bread
• Broccoli(raw)
• Carrots
• Cashews
• Cauliflower(raw)
• Celery
• Cheerios
• Cheese(American,Cheddar)
• Cheese Whiz
• Chicken Broth
• Cream Cheese
• Croutons(plain)
• Dried Fruit(bananas,apricots,apples)
• Eggs(cooked)
• Honey
• Liver(Freeze dried)
• Macaroni & Cheese(leftovers)
• Nectarines
• Nut Butter
• Oatmeal
• Orange Slices
• Pasta Noodles(cooked)
• Peaches
• Peanut Butter
• Potatoes (instant mashed,no skins)
• Pumpkin (canned)
• Ravioli
• Rice
• Rice Cakes
• Steak(scraps)
• Tomatoes(no greens or stems)
• Tortellini
• Tuna
• Turkey(leftovers)
• Velveeta
• Wheat Germ
• Yogurt (plain,lowfat,unsweetened,unflavored)

Puzzle Toys and Interactive toys

Got a bored dog? You’ve walked miles and miles and we still have energy to spare. Most dogs might get the physical energy worked out of their systems, but mentally they’re still very restless. Built up mental energy can cause costly repair to your house and unneeded visits to the vet. And no one likes to pay for extra vet bills. Mental exercise is probably just as important as actually physical exercise. So in the long run a mentally worked dog will save you many, many headaches. Why because, we’re chewing our toys and not your personal items, we become confident, we become independent. Who doesn’t like that in a dog? My students in my classes know that I’m very big on puzzle toys. For the reasons listed above. Like any pet parent I will say that my dog is ‘smart’ and I believe she is very smart, (she just has a lot emotional baggage still hanging around) but she has a collection of puzzle toys, and it keeps growing and growing. She’s actually figured out that she can drop a toy down the stairs to get treats come out. That’s just an example of one of many different strategies your dog might come up with to solve a puzzle. If you have a big chewer you might, look for heavy duty chew toys that serves as puzzle toys. A lot of times big chewers are big barker. A common bark is a boredom bark, if we have nothing better to do then bark. It’s like big talkers many of them need to chew gum to keep the jaw going.

So what toy is a puzzle toy? Pretty much anything you can put food or treats in. Probably the most well know dog person to promote puzzle toys is Dr. Ian Dunbar, who believes no dog should be feed out of a bowl. And they should be fed from a KONG. Now that’s silly, right? Not really, its self rewarding, you dog will think “we lay down and we get treats, that’s pretty cool we should lie down more often and chew on our stuff”. It prevents dogs from eating to fast (scarf and barf). Also helps dogs build self steam and teaches them also to be creative when they’re bored. Once a dog has chewed on a toy its forever theirs no matter where the toy is or who it really belongs to. I have many dogs in my classes who will go to the class toy box and pick out the KONG, and probably 80% of the time if it’s the first time the dog has done that before the owner will tell me “Oh he has one at home like that”

Now on to the toys!!!

• KONG-http://www.kongcompany.com
• Types-Puppy, Senior, Classic, Extreme
• Made of :Rubber
• Made in: USA
• What size to get- See Kong’s website or package details

If you’re using it for just a chew toy then whatever, weight is recommended on the package. Now if you’re using it as a stuffing or food dish toy, I recommended going with a size above the package size. Example my dog is roughly 20lbs. she has med. toys for chew and packing canned food it. But she has a Lg. for meals

.

Other KONG products to try-

Stuff a ball:

• Kong’s pastes needed
• Kibble can be placed in center part
• Helps with dental care

Biscuit Ball:

• Holds varieties Biscuit bones on the outside
• Can hold kibble as well in the inside

Planet Kong Goodies line:

• Short term puzzle toy
• Mostly a biscuit holder

PREMIER-http://www.premier.com/

Made of:Rubber

Made in:

Squirrel Dude-

• Lazy man’s Kong easy to stuff toy with little work on the human end
• Inter “teeth” randomly dispenses food
• no need to freeze toy
• Strong chew strength

Kibble Nibble

• Mentally and physically stimulates dog’s natural stalk and prey drives
• customizable duel treat meter, randomly dispenses foods as we tumble it around
• holds up to 2 cups of food

Twist n Treat-

• Med Strength chew
• Most adjustable toy in the Premier line, to keep any level of interest
• Can be spun or dropped to “win game”
• Soft or hard treat works as well as smear-able treats works

Tug a Jug-

• We can see, smell, hear food inside
• strong against big chewers
• Great for tug lovers

OTHER PUZZLE TOYS

TreatStik-http://www.treatstik.com/

• -Hard Plastic
• -Removable top for humans
• -roll it, nudge it, carry it
• -holds up against strong chewers
• -slowly and randomly disperse food
• -good feed control for over weight dogs

Canine Genius-http://www.caninegenius.com/

• only toy that I know of that can interlock with another to make a harder puzzle
• Mike and Leo two different styles
• Leo has 4 holes to dispense food
• Not as easy as it looks

Kyjen Hide a Squirrel-http://www.kyjen.com/

• Plush so its not really a food toy
• Helps build problem solving skills
• Squirrels have squeakers
• Remove squirrels from plush tree
• Helps build eye paw coordination
• help satiety your dog’s natural instinct to search, stalk and capture drive
• Can place treats and other toys inside
• Can buy “extra” or replacement squirrels
• (they have other types of Hide a toys)

Omega Paws’ Tricky Treat Ball-http://www.omegapaw.com/TrickyTreatBall.html

• soft rubber ball
• Easy to grip
• Hardwood floor friendly
• Dispense food at a fair rate to keep focused and entertained

The Buster Food Cube-http://www.bustercube.com/

• very hard plasic
• not hardwood floor friend and be loud on hard surfaces
• A lot of times its to large to fully fit in mouths
• Adjustable
• Can hold a larger amount of food

Nina Ottosson’s Dog Fighter Toys- http://www.nina-ottosson.com/PRODUCTS.htm

• Extreme Puzzle Toys (recommended for advanced puzzle dogs)
• Wooden Parts
• Move parts to reveal treats
• Occupy and stimulates, Encouraging, dog to use their brains
• Hard to find and can be pricey. (I found some at a store close to my house that’s about $60

Triple Crown/Starmark’s FirePlug-http://www.triplecrowndogs.com/product

• Puncture Resistant material
• Can insert “everlasting cookie on ends
• Mentally stimulates

I'm Sure there's many other Puzzle/Interactive toys out there, these are the ones I've personally seen myself or read about. Remember each dog is different and have different levels of skill, start off easy and make your way up to the hard ones. If it take to long (5mins) your dog will give up and probably never touch the toy again. So make it fun!!! A dog is happiest when they have to work for their stuff, its just in the hard-wiring and plus you don't want an ungrateful dog

~Heather