You and your family decided... Let’s do it! Let’s get a pup. We are going go meet a new furry addition to our family.

One consideration. This new guest... does not speak hooman. So let’s learn a little dog lingo before you go... or maybe you have a pup and clearly you are on different wave lengths.

For starters... greeting a dog while standing and leaning over top and bringing your hands up over their head to pet the top of their head... super scary!! You are like a giant bear attacking the back of their neck. This is why a lot of dogs jump. To gain height.

I like to stand off center by putting one foot back. Almost like a fight stance. I keep my hands low, by my side. And I get down low. Then I look away. Look toward the dog, then look away. Give them the chance to approach you, sniff and meet you. When you get friendly vibes, then you can pet them... start low.

Now for “recall” or the cue to “come”, we start be just walking away. If you walk towards Bailey, he will think this is a game and walk away from you. As long as you are walking towards Bailey, it’s a game and he will walk/run way from you - it’s play. If you walk away - now it’s time for him to follow you. If you are in the dog park, just start walking around the dog park. Just go in a circle or weird pattern and call your pup. Once Bailey figures out that he needs to follow me then I can lead him to the door and we can leave.

If he’s super distracted... I can up the ante. I can run around the park and become super interesting. I can bring out his favorite ball and start playing fetch with him. I can use a higher value treat...

There is a passage in Scott Adams (also on locals) book, How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big about working with a trainer... and one funny bit was the trainer saying (not a direct quote - sorry Scott) I use better treats. HAHAHAHAHA!! It’s so true!! There is always a higher value reward out there... figure out what it is and use it...

Trust me when I figure out what Bailey really wants, he will come. And it’s different for every dog. So you have to know what is important to your dog.

As a trainer, one of the challenges is learning what motivates each dog I work with. Some dogs want love, some food, some toys... some just want to keep up with their brother (train one and both get trained).

When you want to call your dog to you with a true recall cue, before you call your dog, position your body just like a new introduction, squat down my friend - work the knees!! What a great opportunity to practice some body weight squats... yay!! Secondary benefit to dogs... they help us stay active!!

Get down, relax your hands, take a deep breath, look at your pup, look away. Give a whistle and call your dog’s name... then says the cue - “come”. As soon as Bailey starts trotting toward me, I click. The click bridges the gap between the moment he does the correct behavior and when I can deliver the reward. Thus it’s a communication tool to aid in timing. So don’t fuss too much about rushing the food - as long as there is a reward for each click then it remain “loaded”.

If we were playing a game and you were the one trying to guess what I wanted and I could only communicate with a clicker... say we didn’t speak the same language... or it’s just a game. If every time you did something toward the correct action, I clicked... and you progressed onward (like the hot/cold game) and every time you got further from it I withdrew attention (getting colder)... then the trick to this game would really be the precise timing of the clicks. If i clicked a second or two late and you moved on it would confuse you as to which action was correct.

So applying this to our pups. When we use this very powerful communication tool, one thing that can progress or slow training can be the effectiveness of the click...

In some of the earlier videos from when I had first started training (which I will post), you can see that I was still learning (and am still learning - lifelong skill) to get the timing down. (Interesting fact - Karen Pryor is now doing a study with training surgeons by clicker training them - So learn this skill - might be the future!!)

I can be in a crowded dog park. I get down... oh, man - all the dogs come running to me. Hahaha. So it’s really communicating with the dogs in a way that they understand.

Last point... eek - poisoning the cue... what the heck does that mean? Well you get this beautifully consistent cue. It’s solid.. Then every time you put the leash on the go back home. Or in some way it end in what feels like a punishment to your pup. Make sure, you keep in mind that when you call your pup to you, there is still a moment of appreciation for you pup. Some love, a small walk or even just some extra sniffs will help your dog feel like they were rewarded for leaving their play to come to you. Otherwise, Bailey will learn that the word come just means playtime is over and he has to go back to his apartment prison. Don’t make your dog feel like a hostage of another species!! *Help your dog feel like he’s a guest that you invited to live in your home. Help him understand the rules and boundaries of your home like you would any guest. And when you want to leave the park, ask you pup to leave like you would a guest visiting your world.

If you see Bailey is enamored with me and I can barely get far enough away to perform a decent recall. This is proof of the positive training. He’s just working hard for my attention because he knows there is a serious reward for him. Treats, belly rubs, snuggles, you name it.

This guy stayed with me for a week right before all the covid stuff. He is only 12 weeks old (a little young) and his hooman was not speaking dog... at all. And this baby didn’t know what this hooman wanted. So he stayed with me. We helped him understand some of the expectations Hoomans have for living in their world... potty training. And we did some basics too.

Bailey did a great job!! Way to go Bailey!!