Here is the final article adapted from the thesis that I wrote for the Canine Principles Puppy Development, Care & Coaching Accredited Diploma course.
To give any dog the best chance possible of a long and happy life, it is important that they learn how to do certain things that will make their life in a very human world easier for both to deal with and understand. Learning these cues means that dog and guardian can co-exist contentedly together. As with most things, the breed type of the puppy should be considered as different breed types may have difficulties with certain cues, or respond differently to reward types. A terrier for instance may see a game where they can rag a favourite toy as an ultimate reward to end a session, while a less energetic breed might far prefer something tasty.
Every dog is best coached using kind and positive methods, but this is particularly true for puppies. Puppy brains learn quickly and combining this fact with the positive effects of dopamine in the reward centre of the brain, reward based coaching is the best science-based form of coaching to use. Dopamine accelerates learning, and builds the puppy’s confidence through the whole coaching process. Their interest will be on the coach and anticipating the rewards they can earn. The most common reward that highly motivates most dogs is food but for others, fuss and attention or a game with a favourite toy will work well. A range of different level of treat values should be selected for different difficulty levels of cues, always starting with the lowest value treat first as going up in value is easy, but going down in value is less so.
Before beginning coaching a puppy, it is important to have an understanding of canine communication, and what the body language a puppy displays might mean. The body language of a happy puppy is as described above. A coach needs to be aware of the signs a puppy may give to show they are becoming confused and uncomfortable, so that any coaching session can be changed or stopped if the puppy is becoming overwhelmed.
Signs of being uncomfortable can include:
- Yawning – while yawning may signify a tired puppy, it can also be a signal that they are unhappy and trying to promote calmness.
- Looking away – if a puppy looks away, particularly if they turn their head away but have their eyes positioned to keep monitoring the thing that they are worried by so displaying the whites (whale eye), it is a sign that they are uneasy.
- Licking – licking the lips is a calming signal, that the puppy uses both to calm himself and others around him. The big very visible nose lick is a sign of unease.
- Body language – a relaxed puppy’s body language will be loose and wriggly, their tail wagging and eyes bright and excited. One consideration when looking at different breeds and breed types is that they all have a different neutral position for their tail, ears etc. For example, the low slightly tucked tail position that indicates worry in most breeds is the neutral position in a whippet. Before partaking in any coaching, the coach should ensure they are familiar with the breed’s neutral position.
- Tension – if the body begins to tense up, the puppy is worrying. They may bristle up the hair along their backs. As they grow this turns into the hackles raising. This can mean a number of emotional states such as fear, anxiety or the potential for confrontation.
- Displacement behaviours – these can signal confusion and unease. They are normal behaviours but which are being displayed at an inappropriate time. The puppy that suddenly sits down and starts scratching, or sniffing intently at a spot on the ground is showing that they are confused and unsure what they are supposed to be doing.
- Appeasement behaviours such as licking (particularly seen with other dogs where they will lick the muzzle or the ears), lots of blinking, dropping the body lower, along with the head and ears, and possibly jumping up to solicit attention.
All of the above signals indicate that the coach should back off and either stop the coaching session or switch focus to something easier so that the puppy can relax and end the coaching session on a good note, as it should always be.
There are a number of cues that a puppy should learn, for safety and handling purposes. All successful coaching helps to strengthen the bond between puppy and guardian, if it is carried out with kindness and patience. The best way to coach a new cue is to use a marker such as a clicker or a marker word to mark the exact moment the puppy is showing the behaviour wanted, and then reward. After a few repetitions, introduce the chosen cue word and keep repeating, moving the cue word earlier in the process until it precedes the behaviour. There are a number of ways to start teaching any cue – either waiting until the puppy spontaneously offers the behaviour, or by luring them into position with a tasty treat and then marking and rewarding when they have done what you are looking for. Once the behaviour is established in a quiet location, start practicing in gradually more distracting environments and in different places. Once the cue is established in the busiest of environments it is described as ‘proofed’ and considered fully established. This is the method of teaching that works for all of the cues listed below. For some puppies, especially those that might lack confidence if they get things wrong, it can be better to shape a behaviour rather than waiting for the puppy to offer it perfectly themselves. To shape a behaviour, the coach rewards every tiny step towards the final behaviour, withholding the marker after each step has been mastered to progress the behaviour.
Focus is the cornerstone of coaching puppies. If we can get the puppy to focus on us, then we can be sure that we have their attention and their interest. Coaching cannot be as successful if puppies are distracted by other things instead of focusing on the coach. Focus is a simple cue to teach by sitting on the floor and waiting for the puppy to look at you. Mark the behaviour and reward. If the puppy needs some encouragement to begin with, hold a treat in front of his nose and then move it up and over behind your head until he is looking at your face.
Sit is one of the first cues many people want their puppies to learn. It is important to note that some breeds can find sitting uncomfortable due to factors such as their thin skin and this should be taken into consideration. If they sit naturally, mark and reward the moment they sit and they will soon pick up what is wanted. To lure them into position, hold a treat at the end of his nose and move it up towards the back of his head. As he lifts his head, his rear end will drop and touch the ground. Mark the moment that happens and reward.
Down is easy to coach from a sitting position. Again, the puppy might lay down when they want to and you can mark and reward that moment or lure the puppy downwards with a treat and then again mark and reward.
Stay can be coached by starting with a puppy in a position they are not likely to move from and reward them for not moving. Once the position is established, take a step away from the puppy and reward them again for not moving. Careful observation is necessary as the distance should not be made so great the puppy moves out of position as if it happens once, it will happen again. Some people prefer to term the cue as wait, and others will coach both with slightly different behaviours for each cue.
Release cues can negate the need for a wait cue as the puppy learns from the beginning to wait to be released from the behaviour to do something else. Once he has demonstrated the required behaviour, a moment later give the cue for release and then reward. A good reward for the release cue is a play session as it differentiates from other rewards and moves the puppy along to do something else. As the release becomes established, the length of time the puppy stays in the first position is increased.
Recall is absolutely vital and every dog should be coached from a very early age to come when they are called. A sound recall is a safety device and can allow the dog to be called back from the end of a path nearing a road, or another dog that does not wish to greet and play, or from livestock that might be worried by a loose dog. Recall is easy to teach in a young puppy by having someone help by holding the puppy, showing them you have a treat and taking a few steps away and then calling him. When he comes to take the treat, gently take hold of his harness or collar if he is wearing one so that he cannot learn to grab the treat and run away as he grows. Recall is a behaviour that can wobble at certain points as the puppy grows and starts testing boundaries, but higher value rewards can help to minimise the effects of those times.
Leave is useful for stopping a dog from picking up or eating something that would not be good for him, for instance roadkill or animal faeces when out on a walk, or if something harmful to the dog is dropped on the kitchen floor while cooking for instance. The behaviour can be taught by putting a treat down on the floor just beyond the puppy’s reach, then showing the puppy another treat from the hand. The moment his gaze moves away from the treat in front of him and to the one in the hand, mark the behaviour and give him the hand treat. The treat sitting on the floor tempting him is there as the final reward at the end of training, which only lasts a few seconds to begin with.
Drop is a very useful cue. It can be used to get a dog to let go of something that might harm them, or to enable you to swap something they have that you do not want them to have for something more suitable. To coach this cue, when they have a toy or similar, show them that you are holding a higher value reward. As soon as they drop whatever they are holding to come and get the higher value item, mark the behaviour and reward with the item you are holding. This is also a great way to avoid resource guarding issues developing.
Mark or Touch can be great for confidence building, or for redirecting the puppy away from trying to nibble a hand to get a treat. Hold out a hand near the puppy with a treat in the palm. Close your hand around it and wait for them to investigate to try and get the treat. Many puppies will paw or nibble at the hand. Patient waiting will let the puppy settle down and at some point they will touch the hand with their nose. If the puppy seems unsure, a dab of peanut butter or something else nice can encourage them. When this happens, mark the behaviour and open the hand so the puppy can take the treat. The length of time the mark is held can be extended, which can be useful if the dog needs to be still for a while, for a health check for example.
Shake or Paw can be great for showing the puppy an alternative behaviour to jumping up for attention. It is coached in the same way as the Mark or Touch behaviour but the mark comes when the paw is lifted or touches the hand.
Paws on the floor is another great choice to counter jumping up, and is best taught before the puppy learns to jump up at all. The puppy is given the mark and reward when all 4 of his paws are on the floor and any jumping up is completely ignored to avoid any form of reinforcing the undesirable behaviour.
Wearing a muzzle without feeling stressed by it is something that all dogs will ideally learn. For many dogs, the first time they might encounter a muzzle is when they are hurt or stressed at the veterinary clinic. Showing them before that happens that a muzzle is not a scary thing to wear removes a large element of potential stress from the situation. Wearing a muzzle can be introduced using the same mark and reward method as for the cues mentioned above.
Loose leash walking is one of the biggest issues that affects many dog/ relationships. Starting to coach this from the very beginning, as soon as the puppy is accustomed to wearing their walking equipment, means that they do not learn to pull as they grow. For loose leash walking coaching, tiny treats are used and, if the puppy pulls the leash taut, stop and ignore them. When they take a step back towards the handler and the leash goes slack they are rewarded and the walk continues. This can also be extended into teaching heelwork as, in the beginning, every step at heel is reinforced and the gap is not left long enough between rewards for the puppy to wander out of position.
Getting this learning in as early as possible without overwhelming or confusing the puppy will help towards making the transition through adolescence easier for the young dog and everyone around them. Adolescence can be a very trying time, similar to the teenage stage in humans, as hormones start to surge in the beginning of sexual behaviours. Although some dogs will fly through this point in their lives with no issues, most will see some behaviour changes and can appear challenging.
There is a second fear impact period, although it is not seen in all dogs, and for some it is brief. It is seemingly linked to the onset of adolescence and so varies as to start and end time depending on breed type and the speed at which they mature. It occurs between the ages of 5 and 18 months, so towards the end of the period of the dog’s life that this thesis covers. Those raising a puppy should be aware of its potential to occur as adolescence is a difficult time to coach a puppy through, and any behaviour changes that may become apparent could be linked to this fear impact period.
While no amount of planning can guarantee a ‘perfect puppy’ due to the nature of individuality and things that may happen out of our control, careful parent selection, kind and ethical care of the mother and puppies, and positive reinforcement based coaching of essential life lessons can give a puppy as good a chance as possible of being a happy, healthy dog throughout their entire life.
References used in this section:
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I have also just finished working my way through the Canine Principles Inspiring Resilience In Fearful & Reactive Dogs - 30 Day Program. Here's my thoughts as I wrote them when reviewing the course on the Blue Merle Minion Facebook page: "I reached day 30 of this video course from Canine Principles today, and definitely recommend it if you're sharing your life with a complex, complicated dog that needs extra help and understanding. The information builds each day to help you see what is going on inside your dog when they are reacting to things, and how to spot they are uncomfortable and scared much earlier in the process. This leads in to discussions on how to help build their confidence and resilience, and make them far better equipped to live a happy life in their world. The last few days of the course in particular are absolutely brilliant and packed with info, and the previous days give the grounding and understanding to get the most out of those fabulous last few days.
I would really recommend this course to anyone wanting better understanding of canine fear and anxiety, and also that you follow it in the way intended. One video a day with some time to think about the points raised and the tasks set in the course material really lets everything sink in before moving on to the next section the following day. As always, Sally presents the subject with warmth, understanding and empathy, both for the human and canine side of the equation, and makes the science involved very accessible and easy to understand, and relate to the context of your own dogs.
A major thumbs up from me 💙💙
If you share your life with a complex, complicated dog, you will get a lot out of this course, particularly if you follow the recommended pace and give each day's topic and task time to sink in, and at the end of the month it all comes together and falls into place. 😀
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