Recalls

A thought occurred to me. Many people do not know what a recall is. Either that or their dogs do not come when called and people think that it isn't really a big deal. Why need your dog to come if they are restricted to a confined area?

recall: to call back; summon to return

This is the definition that dictionary.com gives. A "come" when called is highly important. Calling a dog away from something dangerous can save their life. Different behaviors are crucial, though in my opinion, a recall is probably the most important thing a dog can learn.

First off, lets start with how one builds a recall. Coming back to their owner should be a pleasant experience for a dog. The toughest thing I have had to learn myself is that even if that dog doesn't come at first or bolts off even if you tell them to stay, when they finally do return, as upset as one may be, the experience still has to be pleasurable for the dog. Many people think a dog should come by choice, but it has to be enticing. Hence, we return to our motivation post from the other day. What motivates the dog to come when called? Is the reward greater than the reinforcement of the environment around the dog? Another thing to remember is that it isn't a bribe but teaching the dog that the choice of coming is better than staying away and therefore they receive a huge reward.

Recalls serve a bigger purpose than just having a dog that listens. It's about keeping an eye on your dogs and looking out for their safety as well as other dogs. Often than not, many of us poison our dogs' desire to come and a new word has to be used. Several people even include a behavior such as a nose touch to entice a dog to have to truly come all the way back. A nose touch allows for the behavior to become specific. Unless the dog returns and offers the required behavior completely, the reward is withheld. This allows the owner to maintain specific criteria when training and makes the behavior stronger than if one were to just ask for a response in the dog.

"A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than you love yourself." -Josh Billings

Make your dog love you more than anything else. I challenge you to make yourself the biggest value in your dogs' lives. Not only is is this going to increase your dogs' want to learn with you but it's going to make the relationship even more valuable. It's about focus, motivation and enjoying working together. Today isn't the question of what motivates your dog. Today, we need to figure out how to reward our dog and get the best recall ever. It's about keeping your dog happy and safe.

So, how FAST does your dog come back when called?

Calming Signals

What on earth is a calming signal? How can we define the difference between it and a normal behavior? First off, I think it's important to understand just what a calming signal is and why dogs use them. It seems to me that many people do not understand what calming signals are about and therefore, often, misread their dogs. These actions cause misinterpretation and this, unfortunately, I have seen, leads to unnecessary scuffles and stressful encounters between dogs. Calming signals can include a variety of behaviors.

Calming Signals include
-lip flicks (a quick lip lick)
-yawning
-stretching
-shaking "off"
-scratching
-panting
-sniffing
-turning the body away
-whale eye (seeing the whites of a dogs eyes)
-approaching from the side rather than straight on
-lowering of the tail and ears

In simple terms, calming signals are what a dog uses to appease and communicate with something that may be scary or potentially threatening. It is a way for many dogs to say "I'm not a threat" or "Let's avoid conflict". Often times these signals are missed because a panting dog may be mistaken for being hot, a yawn may be interpreted as the dog being tired, or sniffing, which is a huge avoidance behavior, can be viewed by some as the dog simple "not wanting to pay attention". Does a yawn always mean a dog is stressed? Does every shake or stretch mean the dog is trying to tell you he or she is scared? Absolutely not. However, it is in the context of which these behaviors happen that we must interpret them. If a dog is being swarmed by several other dogs he doesn't know, then it is fairly certain a lowered posture means the dog is uncomfortable.

Many times, we as owners, miss calming signals and the dog is "forced" to elevate their response and a snap or nip is given. Sometimes, unfortunately, even those signals are missed and this is when a dog finally chooses to bite. Often than not, these bites are interpreted as "attacks for no reason" and the dog is deemed as being at fault. Dogs certainly do not deserve to be punished for trying to communicate with us. It is our job to understand them and accept their body language. Just by reading a dog's calming signal many unfortunate incidents could be avoided.

If you'd like to learn more on calming signals there are many articles that provide such information. There is also an excellent book called "On Talking Terms with Dogs: Calming Signals" by Turid Rugaas.

"Lots of people talk to animals.... Not very many listen, though.... That's the problem" -Benjamin Hoff, The Tao of Poo

It is up to us to learn how to communicate better with our dogs and to hear what they are trying to tell us. That is my whole intention of this blog. Dogs do speak to us. It is simply up to us, to listen.

Motivation

It's all about motivation. What motivates you? In order for us to do just about anything we have to be motivated by something. I was inspired and motivated to finally start something that has been suggested to me many times. I have had dogs my entire life. I was brought home, from the hospital, to a dog, as a baby. I've always had a love for animals, especially dogs. My relationship with my dogs is a huge motivator for me to understand more about them. I've had people encourage me to blog and speak my mind about training, behavior, what has worked for me and what hasn't. There is so much I have to learn and I'm always striving to improve. However, there are many things I have experienced and many things I feel need to be discussed. Whether this reaches thousands of people or ten, I've shared my knowledge with someone and in turn they may share theirs with someone else.

"Motivation is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it."

-Dwight D. Eisenhower

What are motivators and how can we use them?

Motivators are all around us and whether or not we know it, they pull and push us humans in certain directions. Motivators can be a variety of things including the environment, food, toys, praise and they are all different for us. Find what motivates your dogs and use it to your advantage. If you hold the key to what drives your dogs you can shape and create just about any behavior by reinforcing it. Motivators can work against us as a dog may choose to self reinforce. However, if you know how to control those motivators, the results can be brilliant. Think about what motivates yourself. What would you do for something you really like? Finding motivators can be difficult, especially when outside motivators, such as the environment or other animals, have more value. Having two dogs myself that are practically night and day has pushed me to find motivators and really think of what will get each dog to work for and with me. And, I feel it isn't so much about manipulating but more so about teaching the dog about a fair trade off. Making a right choice yields a high value reward. Making a wrong choice simply means the reward is withheld.

Regardless of what motivates a dog, keeping a dog motivated and interested in the training process is key. Many people expect a dog to simply focus and pay attention to them 24/7. Here's the thing - the environment is fun. There are exciting things to do such as greet people and dogs. We cannot expect our dogs to be robots. All we can do is teach our dogs to make good choices and that those choices will be rewarded. Motivators help bridge that way between making good choices and being reinforced for them.

So, what motivates YOUR dog?