Tuesdays with Justin; Dog Training at Home: Week 2 – Tell Them What You Want, Not What You Don’t
Did I hear a bell? Justin’s dog, Pacino, running for the door.
Welcome back for Week 2 of Tuesdays with Justin, a dog training series from CBS-TV’s Dogs in the City star, Justin Silver. Justin helped us so much with our rescue, Jasper, that I wanted to share his philosophy and help other dog parents overcome frustrating issues. Justin and his partner, Dave Donnenfeld, also have a new book out, The Language of Dogs. I reviewed it in an earlier post (link at the bottom of this one). Each Tuesday, we’ll be giving away one copy to a lucky Bark & Swagger follower. I say “lucky” because it’s a great and very helpful read. On to week 2!
Tuesdays with Justin
(written by Justin Silver & Dave Donnenfeld)
Tell Them What You Want, Not What You Don’t OR Does Your Dog Go Crazy When the Doorbell Rings?
When the doorbell rings, dogs bark. Then people bark at the dog for barking and the message to the dog is: “When the bell rings, we all bark.” Then, guests wait. Then, knees get wedged into the door as friends try to scurry in unscathed.
Whenever I ask a client, “What would you like your dog to do when the doorbell rings?” I get the same answer. “Well, I wish she wouldn’t…” I repeat the question and clients get more specific on what they don’t want. When they finally hear, “What do you want your dog to do?” a blank stare and an embarrassed grin follow.
Interestingly enough, people who have difficulty expressing their own needs in life are often blessed with doorbell drama. My weekly message of hope: When these same people are faced with their stressed or overly excited dog audibly begging for direction, magic happens.
Not So Great Expectations
It is reasonable for a dog to communicate, “Hey, someone’s here!” when the doorbell rings. The loop of lunacy that typically follows is another thing, so let me suggest some protocols:
- Thank the dog for alerting you that there is a guest at the door.
- Direct the dog to a “go to” spot while the guest is greeted.
- Once the guest is inside, call your dog over to say hello.
Sounds good? Good, let’s do this!
- Go to spot- a dog mat about 8-10’ away from the front door that offers line of sight.
Let’s Play!
- With the dog on leash, ring the doorbell and bring the dog to the spot.
- Use the sit and stay command. Approach the door (alone).
- Use treats to create some positive associations with the new spot.
Try to approach the door unaccompanied for extended periods of time. Be sure to reward your dog for staying put. As progress is made, add difficulty with repeated ringing and swinging the door open. Finally, have a short conversation with an invisible person outside the door.
Once the dog can stay put, move to a real-world rehearsal- while your dog freely roams, ring the doorbell.
- Signal your dog to the spot or take him there if he’s still learning.
- Show the dog the reward.
- Let the dog calm down for a moment.
- Issue a “stay” before going to the door.
- Open the door, talk, close the door, return, and reward.
Everyone who lives in the house should do this. Once 80% success has been achieved, practice the entire ritual and delay the reward until the end of the exercise.
Now that everyone’s on the same page, we can make a few concessions for the dog.
- Some barking is okay as is a little straying from the spot.
- A moment to calm down is allowed.
- Ask guests to avoid loud, excited greetings.
- Keep the dog on leash in the house when practicing.
When a dog is made aware of her options, anxiety abates and healthy confidence rises. As followers to our lead, knowing what is expected is often the simple cure for many woes.
Next week, we’ll learn the difference between giving your dog an option and attempting to bribe it.
The Giveaway!
Enter to win a copy of Justin & Dave’s new book, The Language of Dogs, a great dog training at home manual that’s easy to read and chock full of practical training tips that work. I reviewed it in an earlier post here.
To enter, just join the SwagTeam! If you’re already part of the Bark & Swagger family, you’re eligible! The giveaway begins Tuesday, May 5 at 7am EST and ends Sunday, May 10 at 11:59pm EST. Each week, we’ll announce a new winner and start the giveaway again.
Week 1’s winner is Margot C. Congratulations, Margot!
To get more info, great tips and fun pictures, visit Justin on:
What’s your biggest training issue?
We have three dogs (Bichon/Maltese mixes); and all three are very excited with the doorbell, or when someone walks in. We actually keep a gate up so they can’t get to the door..that way at least people can come in and get ready for the onslaught. They do calm down after about 10 minutes. How can we train this to three dogs at the same time?…or is it too late?
Hi Gary – Thanks for writing in. My suggestion would be to set up a Skype session with Justin. Happy to introduce you if you’d like. Justin doesn’t give one fix for every dog. Especially with the energy of three different dogs, I think it’s probably the best course of action to reach out to him. He needs to see the dogs in action. If you have a video, that’s always helpful to him. He had us make a video of Jasper acting out his fear aggression on other dogs and people on walks and from that, he was able to tell me what I was doing wrong. When we did a Skype session (and we’ve done only one and that was enough to get results), he got to actually see Jasper, get his energy and that was the final piece. Let me know and good luck, Gary!
Instagram links are not working for me.
My dog has SEVERE fear aggression. Can’t be around other dogs. Makes it extremely hard to walk her and I know she needs the outlet and exercise, but she’s a bit over 100 lbs and very strong……….any tips?
Hi Maryann – Thanks for writing in. First, just tried the Instagram link and is working for me. Can you clear your cache and history or refresh and try again? Re your dog, we had the same issue with Jasper, although he’s far from 100 lbs, so we had it easier. Justin doesn’t give one fix for all answers, so he’d really need to see your dog. We did one Skype session with him and were on the road to Jasper being a different dog. He put Jas into a head harness. Halti and Gentle Leader both make good ones. And he talked to us about our energy when we walk him. We were anxious, waiting for and expecting an outburst and hte leash, he says, is like a lightening rod to the dog. They always pick up on what’s going on with us. So we had to “get fluffy” as Justin puts it. Imagine the perfect walk we’d want to have with him and then pretend we were already having it. He taught us how to hold the leash too. And a protocol for introducing him to other dogs, which he has in his book. If you want, I’d be happy to introduce you to Justin via email and you can set up a Skype session with him. I know it sounds nutty, but it worked for us and we only had to do one. Let me know and good luck!