Tag Archives: mental exercise

Just be

February 8, 2016 AniEd Ireland

What ever happened to doing nothing?

I can’t remember what I used to do when there was any sort of lull in the action before I had a smartphone.
Anything other than constant stimulation and I am reaching for my iPhone…

The movie Bolt struck a cord when I saw it a few years ago.

It’s about a canine star of a TV show, Bolt, who plays a dog with super-powers saving his person Penny from the Green Eyed Man, week in, week out.
Except, that nobody told Bolt it was just a work of fiction and that he isn’t really a super-dog.

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When the cameras stop rolling Bolt is kept in a permanent state of readiness, to fend off attacks by his enemies.

What about pet dogs?

We certainly invest lots in teaching them to do lots of stuff, to increase their responsiveness, to build their love of learning and interaction.
And we put lots of energy into keeping them active, getting them moving, in the hope that a tired dog is a good dog (but is it?).

When do they get to just be?

‘Just being’ doesn’t necessarily come easily

Pretty much every type of dog was developed for some sort of job and in modern pet-dom most dogs are unemployed.

Our efforts in guiding dogs from wild to pet, whether intentional or not, selected for characteristics such as wariness, reactivity, inquisitiveness, attachment and activity.

Our pets’ lives, just like our’s, continue to become more and more sedentary with us substituting real-life pursuits for those that are easier to participate from a seated position – even sport is a less serious outlet for pretty serious behaviour.

Without outlets for our behaviour, it is channelled somewhere else – I have a Smartphone but what do our dogs have?

Would we know a dog ‘just being’ if we saw one?

It can be tricky to spot a calm, chilled out dog.

With great access to knowledge you might think we have a better handle on canine signalling, but unfortunately our awareness (or lack thereof) is affected by popular media’s interpretation of “calmness”.

Shutdown is not the same as calmness

A dog who is overwhelmed by a situation and can’t use behaviour to escape something they find unpleasant, will often show signs of ‘shutting down’.

This happens because the dog is unable to escape and his requests for relief have gone unheard/unanswered. This is typified by a very still dog – the absence of behaviour is not calmness.

Shut down dogs interact minimally with their environment, their body may be still and tense, if they are moving their posture may be low slung, they will often be frozen, you may see them yawn, lick their lips, and squint and blink (outside of normal contexts for these behaviours).

Eileen Anderson’s clip gives you a run down of some examples, mistaken for calmness:

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Calmness myths and mistakes:

The absence of behaviour is not calmness (nor ideal)
Stillness because there’s no way out, ain’t calmness
Stillness through restraint ain’t calmness
Lying down through uncomfortable handling or contact ain’t calmness
Compliance because they can’t escape ain’t calmness
Compliance due to the application of training equipment or techniques (that the individual finds aversive) ain’t calmness
“Settling” due to exhaustion, ain’t calmness (is a tired dog, a good dog?)
Less behaviour is not necessarily better than more behaviour

If you want less behaviour, maybe the one in the middle ain’t for you…

What does a ‘just being’ dog look like?

A chilled dog is loose, breathing deeply, he may still be monitoring the environment but not really on his tip-toes, he may still be responsive but not in an overly enthusiastic way – but the biggest difference?

The chilled out, calm, ‘just being’ dog is choosing to chill, be calm and be.

Back to Eileen Anderson for her ying to the yang clip:

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Teaching a dog to just be

Start by helping your dog to learn that settling, and being calm is excellent!
Check out Week 2 training games from our Train Your Dog Month here.

From ‘excited-by-everything’ to just-be

This dog needs help coming down from the highs, and to better control his swings from up to down.

play games with rules:

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make play training and training play

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play jazz up/settle down

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From ‘let’s go go go’ to just-be

This dog needs help learning that they don’t need to be ‘on’ all the time – good things happen when you’re doing nothing too.

Both in training sessions, and in life, mark and reward doing nothing – even if it’s only a split second – the more you reinforce nothing, the less frantic behaviour you will see.

make sure to put behaviours on stimulus control – this means that the dog learns to offer behaviours when you cue them only, rather than as soon as he thinks there might be a reward or he thinks it might be time to work

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teach calm-focus exercises rather than laser-focus-on-the-task activities

Week 4 of our Train Your Dog Month program

make doing-nothing your new job

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take a break/breath

https://aniedireland.wordpress.com/2016/01/16/training-game-2-5/

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Hanging out

When we might only have limited time with a dog, whether that be because we are visiting, working long hours or the dog is in a rescue/kennel environment, of course we want to make the most of our time together.

But, a dog who hasn’t been getting too much human attention will be pretty wound up and anticipatory waiting for it. Sometimes, it’s better just to hang out with them – this gives them the opportunity to calm down, bond and be.

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Just be…a dog

Don’t forget, that before the dog can just be, he must have an outlet to just be a dog too.

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Top Training Tips

The Joy of Boring Rewards

February 2, 2016 AniEd Ireland

Do you, your dog and your training a favour and teach your dog to work for, to love and to get excited about more boring rewards.

Many pet owners describe how they ask their dog to wait for their food, before putting the bowl on the floor.
Take that a step further – don’t be uncomfortable with the idea of having your dog offer desired behaviours for each piece of that food rather than the whole meal in one go.

One major benefit to teaching your dog to work for their food, is that their regular food takes on extra significance and extra value.

When it’s harder to get, all of a sudden we want it more…just like these dogs:

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This means that your dog is learning to use behaviours to get things that he wants, even though this stuff may not be steak or roast chicken.

Now transfer that to when you want and need behaviours from your dog, when you need your dog to reign it in, when you need your dog to pay attention, you want to teach him a new behaviour or you just want to divert your dog for a couple of minutes.

If we use our big guns for the most mundane situations, what happens when we really need better ammo?

Here’s Decker and I playing with kibble when out and about – in the first bit there are other dogs, walkers, joggers around us in the park and in the second bit we are walking near the wild deer – not too close because I don’t want them to approach us either!

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The most boring of boring kibble is what has his attention here – it’s fun to hang out with me and cardboard-kibble!

Catching and searching are favourite games – by pairing this fun with kibble, the kibble gains more value.

If I wanted to do something really special or tricky or use food to help Decker better cope with a fear or concern I have lots of bigger and better guns in my arsenal such as cheese, chicken, salami, tug toys or tennis balls.

Before you reach for the big guns…

…make boring rewards more fun:

make a training mix

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Don’t worry if you don’t feed kibble; lots of ideas for other foods here too.

get rid of those food bowls (you knew we were going to say that, right?!)

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play with your food

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turn sniffing out food into a brilliant game

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teach your dog to sniff out food on cue

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use sniffing games as a reward

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pair other more valuable rewards with lower value rewards

This works by teaching your dog that every time they accept a boring reward, something they love even more is coming. With enough pairings, in the right sequence, the more boring reward takes on greater value to your dog.

Here Lottie learns that eating kibble makes a tug game happen:

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check your dog’s stress or worry levels

Dogs who are feeling under pressure, are concerned about something in the environment or are exposed to stressors will be less likely to eat. They may not even want higher value rewards.

Here’s a great outline of signs that your dog may be experiencing some stress and may be overwhelmed, from 4PawsU.

If it’s all too much for your dog, take them somewhere else, bring them away from the hustle and bustle and just let them be – remove the social pressure.

Pain is a major stressor so always be sure to check in with your vet if you are concerned about your dog’s stress levels.

check how much food your dog really needs

Something that’s so easy to forget is that dogs are incredibly efficient when it comes to using and taking in energy.

That means that they probably need much less food than they would have you believe.

Check your dog’s body condition:

And have a look at the body condition scoring system and weight management here.

Have a chat with your vet if you have any concerns about your pet’s weight or body condition.

Boring Rewards ROCK!

Soon you will have a dog who is working hard to earn even the most boring rewards, while you still have some ammo in your arsenal for the real training challenges.

Train Your Dog Month 2016

Training Game 4.3

January 28, 2016 AniEd Ireland

Go be a dog!

We can’t expect our dog to be focused all the time – it’s important that we also make sure our dog gets to be a dog and have fun too!

Rather than just ending a training session or a focus exercise and ignoring your dog, give them something else to do and encourage them to enjoy off-time too.

Today’s Games

Time Allowance:
Practice for 2-4 minute sessions and then take a break. Have a few sessions today.

Try fitting each short session into your routine; for example, while you wait for the kettle to boil, during the ad break of your TV show or while you wait for the computer to start up.

Family Participation:
Kids are often great dog trainers. Teach each child how to play this game safely.

If your dog is mouthy, jumpy or likely to get over-excited it might be best for you to get the behaviours established and then bring in the kids to help with practice.
Always supervise child-dog interactions and make sure children learn to leave the dog alone when eating his rewards.

Top Tip for Today’s Training Game:
Establish this exercise with your dog searching for food and then begin to transfer it to sniffing doggie areas.
This way you will always be able to give your dog some time-off to sniff, no matter where you are.

You will need:

Training Mix
toys or other high value rewards
leash, collar, things for walkies

Go Sniff!

Teach your dog to search and sniff on cue:

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It’s a great idea to work on this exercise because:

dogs gotta sniff
dog love to sniff
sniffing provides great exercise
having sniffing on cue allows your dog to get his sniffing-jollies when it best suits
you can divert your dog’s attention before he gets distracted or upset
you can reward your dog with the opportunity to sniff
you can provide your dog with a bit of relief after excitement
and you can let your dog go be a dog!

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Wohoo!

That wasn’t a tough one at all, but we’re back with more challenges tomorrow!

Train Your Dog Month 2016

Training Game 1.2

January 6, 2016 AniEd Ireland 12 Comments

Fun & Brain Games

Puzzles are our favourite games for dogs – really getting their brain-power working and challenging them is important to keep dogs happy and healthy.

Use your Training Mix for these puzzles but you can also use higher value treats if you set a great challenge – better pay, for harder work!
Build the challenge slowly to avoid frustration and the dog losing interest.

Before using any home-made puzzles check out this clip for some of our favourite puzzle ideas plus please read the safety guidelines at the start:

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I know, I know… but some important considerations to be aware of plus ideas for our favourite puzzles 🙂

Today’s Games

Time Allowance:
Each game will take you 2-10 minutes to set up – depending on the puzzles your choose.
Try a couple of these puzzles today.

Family Participation:
Fun for all the family – children will love constructing puzzles for dogs.
Always supervise child-dog interactions and make sure children learn to leave the dog alone while he works on his puzzle.

Top Tip for Today’s Games:

Give your dog a puzzle in a confined or smaller area. Things could get messy so it’s easier to clean up if the mess is restricted.

Remember, encourage your dog to move away from the puzzle before you start clean up!

Stuffed Puzzles

You will need:

cardboard tube from e.g. toilet roll
crumpled paper e.g. newspaper, kitchen paper
paper e.g. newspaper, old wrapping paper
Training Mix

Beginner Level ideas:

add a treat to a cardboard tube and squeeze the ends
set up as above and wrap loosely in old wrapping paper

Advanced Level ideas:

Add a treat to a cardboard tube, stuff the tube with crumpled kitchen roll or even newspaper. Wrap the tube in paper to make a Christmas Cracker.

Rolled Puzzles

You will need:

stiff cardboard, like a flap from a box
old tea towel
Training Mix

Beginner Level ideas:

remove the flap from a box and spread it out flat; sprinkle some food on it and then roll it up

Advanced Level ideas:

sprinkle a tea towel with food and roll it up
for an extra challenge, slightly dampen the towel, roll up with food and freeze

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Precision Puzzles

You will need:

cardboard eggboxes
butter, yoghurt or cream cheese tubs with lids
crumpled paper
old wrapping paper
Training Mix

Beginner Level ideas:

add some food to an eggbox and close over the lid, without fastening
add some food to a tub and place the lid on top, without pressing it down too hard

Advanced Level ideas:

add some food to an eggbox and close the lid – for an extra challenge wrap the eggbox in old wrapping paper
fill the tub with food and crumpled paper, close the lid tightly

Teasers

You will need:

muffin tin
cardboard tubes, tennis balls, disposable cups
tray, basket, box
Training Mix

Beginner Level ideas:

place a food reward in each gap of an eggbox or muffin tin; cover each treat with a tennis ball, toilet roll tube or disposable cup

Advanced Level ideas:

sprinkle food on the base of the tray/basket/box and then fill the entire container with cardboard tubes standing up – pack it tightly to really challenge your dog

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Snuffle Puzzles

Use a soft ball with holes to make a snuffle ball. Check out our clip and listen for the snuffling:

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Really getting into puzzling your dog? Make him a snuffle mat!

Thread lengths of t-shirt or fleece fabric through the gaps in a rubber doormat and distribute your dog’s meal throughout.

Busy Box

Fill a box with crumpled paper, add treats and close up the box. To make an even busier box, you can add that box to another box too.

Scent Puzzles

You will need:

towel, mat or blanket
some disposable cups or plastic tubs with or without lids (all the same)
Training Mix

Beginner Level ideas:

sprinkle some food on the floor and cover with a towel/mat/blanket – let your dog see you
to advance this puzzle, hide the food under a mat when the dog isn’t present and then release him to search

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Advanced Level ideas:

line up three upturned cups or tubs with food underneath one; release your dog to search

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Bobbing for Kibble

You will need:

a bowl, basin or kiddies paddling pool
water
Training Mix

Beginner Level idea:

toss some food in a bowl of very shallow water when your dog is watching – to increase the challenge remove the dog from the room before submerging the food

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Advanced Level idea:

toss some food in a container with deeper water – to increase the challenge remove the dog from the room before submerging the food

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Wohoo!

Another day over – well done!

Remember, you are only limited by your imagination so show off some of the puzzles you have made – we would love to see your ideas!

Top Training Tips, Train Your Dog Month 2016

Is a tired dog really a good dog?

January 5, 2016 AniEd Ireland

Well, yes and no….

Dogs need a balance of physical and mental exercise to keep them healthy and so that they continue to be easy to live with. If we don’t provide both and in balanced proportions we could run into trouble…

Physical exercise causes stress on the body – not necessarily bad stress, but the body needs to adjust to compensate for activity, for example, increased heart rate, increased breathing rate and so on.

Please note that mental exercise can cause this too so we must be aware of balancing this within each physical or mental activity, not just broadly balancing physical and mental challenges.

Stress, at a body chemical level, causes the body to become wound up, to prepare for this exertion, to cope with the stressors.

Look at your dog when they are physically exerting themselves…panting, tongue lolling, enlarged pupils, keenly focused on the ball (or whatever is the subject of their exertion)…maybe they jump up a little more than usual, maybe they mouth a little harder than normal…

When we push that physical exertion we can cause the dog to become more and more wound up – you may have made the observation that even after running around like a lunatic, your dog is still up for more even when you have had enough activity.

Where we might run into problems is with the excitement-addict…

Ever heard of the marathon runner who has become ‘addicted’ to the highs produced by exertion?
You will have certainly heard of so-called adrenaline junkies; canine excitement-addicts may experience this and want to put themselves in situations where they will hit those highs, over and over.

Don’t despair – you’re in the right place…

A few things can help here:

introduce lots and lots and lots of calming breaks during activity to help bring your dog ‘down’ from the highs – once he’s calmer, reward with the opportunity for more fun
increase mental exercise to achieve better balance
teaching the dog to settle calmly by rewarding calm behaviour
look at the type, amount and suitability of physical exercise provided

A dog that is relaxing peacefully, can calm himself and bring himself down from the highs will have had lots of practice and guidance in this and will be living a balance of mental and physical challenges.

(Is your dog getting up to 18 hours of sleep each day?)

Too much of a good thing…?

How do we strike that balance between physical exercise and mental challenge to ensure our dog’s happiness and health?

The amount of physical and mental exercise that is healthy, will depend on many factors, including:

the dog’s age and neuter status
the dog’s breed, type and conformation
the dog’s current fitness and overall health
the dog’s temperament and abilities, both physical and cognitive
the dog’s current ability to cope with excitement and stress
the season and weather
availability of suitable facilities for exercise
local laws and restrictions relating to dogs
the owner’s ability to exercise the dog
the owner’s goals for the dog, for example, is he to become a competitive sports dog?

Considerations for the challenges we present to puppies and young dogs are some of the most important.

Generally the rule for young and growing dogs is to allow them to decide how much exercise they take – allow them to potter, to sniff and to wander.

We often recommend to provide about 5 minutes per month (age) of structured exercise, such as leash walks.
Therefore for example, a 12 week old puppy should have about 15-20 minutes of structured exercise per day.

On top of those important concerns, mental exercise, downtime and appropriate challenges are vital for puppies and young dogs. Adolescent dogs particularly will benefit from extra attention to teaching them how to calm themselves and cope with excitement.

Puppy Culture from trainer and breeder Jane Messineo Lindquist has some really great resources on all aspects of puppy rearing, and this fantastic area on Appropriate Exercise.

It’s often the case that most petslive too sedentary a lifestyle so in many situations more and better physical exercise is required. But, if we bring in physical exercise we also need to put lots of effort into mental exercise too.

For some great ideas on introducing lots of mental challenges, without adding too much more physical exertion check out the book No Walks, No Worries (available from Amazon.co.uk) by Sian Ryan.

Look no further, you’re in the right place – our Train Your Dog Month 2016 program offers lots of ideas and guidance so that you can help your dog develop skills vital to becoming a pleasure to share your life with.