Last week here at The ExtraOrdinary Dog blog, I wrote about using a script (training plan) to help you and your dog achieve the behavior you want. Since you are the screenwriter, director and one of the starring characters, your script should be relevant to you and your dog, and have as much detail as possible in order for your rehearsals, dress rehearsals and performances to be flawless.
To take the example of teaching your dog to wait at the door, you first need to identify what you want your finished behavior to be.
1.) State your end goal clearly, with positive words. Don’t say, “I don’t want my dog to bolt out the open door”, because that doesn’t allow you to visualize the behavior you want. Instead you can re-phrase your goal something like this: “I would like my dog to sit quietly as the door opens and look into my eyes for 1 second before I verbally release her to walk over the threshold.” For those of us who have literally been bowled over by a dog intent on getting out the door first, it seems impossible to get from Door Dasher to Serenely Sitting. This is where the detail comes in. Break your end goal down into tiny pieces.
2.) Start off right by visualizing, then writing them down and physically putting immediate safety measures in place. Use a leash, and if your dog has practiced door dashing, use baby gates or x-pens to lessen your anxiety.
3.) It doesn’t have to be perfect at first, it just has to be good enough. Know what behavior you will accept as good enough from your dog to have the door open. Once you have your initial criteria, it is critical that you always wait for it before rewarding. For Katie, I asked for a sit (because she knows sit really well), then calmly opened the door an inch. If she left the sitting position, the door would close. It could take three tries or twenty tries, but my first mini goal was to have her sit as the door opened.
Although it may not hold true for all dogs, Katie was highly motivated to get outside, so I used going outside as her reward. (Other dogs may respond better to a food or toy reward, depending on the circumstances). The idea that the dog does something that’s not so rewarding in order to get to what’s really rewarding is called the Premack Principle, or Grandma’s Law (i.e. “Eat your cauliflower, then you can get ice cream for dessert.”).
4.) No matter what, don’t forget your lines. What I found challenging was following though and waiting for the sit even if I was in a rush to get Katie out, or got distracted or just became impatient. Besides safety, consistency is the most important part of rehearsal.
5.) Now raise the criteria. Once Kate could reliably sit when the door opened, I paused for a half a second before releasing her. That pause caused her to glance at me to see what was causing the delay, and the moment her eyes met mine, I released her to walk through the open door. If at any point, she started to leave without my release, I quietly closed the door and waited for her to sit, so we could begin again.
6.) Know your lines, and make sure your dog does, too. Until your dog can perform the behavior you’re asking at least 8 out of 10 times, don’t move on to the next part of the script. And if at any point your dog seems to give up, you need to go back to where she was comfortable and figure out a better way to get to the next step. Often, breaking the behavior down into even smaller steps (with meaningful rewards for your dog) can get your dog back to being eager to work with you.
7.) Make sure to spend time on contingency plans. What will you do if your initial plan doesn’t work? It’s a lot easier to be prepared than to have no plan at all.
8.) Practice (and proofing) makes perfect. If your dog is a genius at waiting at the open door, add one new twist. Maybe you open the door then take a step back. You could ask a trusted family member to stand quietly within sight of the dog in the yard. Practice whatever distractions you can think of, one at a time, until you have the end behavior you want.
Then move on to your next script. One small victory at a time will lead to a beautiful reward of progress.
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