Should dogs be allowed on the couch and the bed?

As I write this post I'm sitting on my couch with my 80 lb. golden retriever, Taj, practically laying in my lap and my 60 lb. golden, Daisy, all snuggled up to me on my right. I must admit, one of my absolute, most favorite things to do in the whole entire world is snuggle with my favorite furballs.

Cuddling with all of my animals. Notice the big smile on my face! Pure happiness. 

Our usual cuddle session starts with me sitting on the couch with my laptop, and then Daisy comes over and rests her head on the couch looking at me with her golden eyes asking for approval to jump up next me. I'll ask her if she wants to cuddle and her head stays on the couch while her back end starts wagging. She waits till I pat the couch twice and say, "Up, up," before she hops up and snuggles into my side. She curls up into the cutest little ball or rests her head on my lap. Then Taj slowly lumbers over with his swaying lion's gait, waits for his cue and then curls up into another ball of cuteness.  To top it off, my big orange cat comes over and settles in right on my lap. Squished between my favorite animals on the planet, is pure bliss. My black pants are always accessorized with fur, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Daisy's Can-I-Hop-Up-On-The-Couch Face

That's not to say that everyone experiences pure happiness with animals all over them. Which is why I am a dog trainer who is an advocate for couch cuddle sessions, but only with permission and rules. Any dogs that are allowed on couches and beds must first learn that they are never allowed on a couch or bed. This means that puppies should not be allowed to hop up onto a couch or bed unless they have been placed up on the bed or have been given permission with a cue. Anytime your puppy or dog goes towards a couch and looks like they want to jump up, make an interruption noise and redirect him to his bed. You can also body block them from trying to jump up. Always have a very comfortable dog bed right near your couch and give your puppy tons of praise and pets for choosing to lay on his bed rather than your couch. If your puppy ends up on the couch it's important to make him get off and have him go to his bed.

When you are not in the room with your puppy or when you leave the house, manage your puppy by not giving him access to the room with the couch in it. You can also prop pillows up so that it blocks your puppy from getting onto the couch. Another trick is to use plastic carpet protectors that offices use for rolling chairs. The small plastic points on one side will not hurt your dog, but are merely uncomfortable to lay on. You can cut the plastic to fit your couch and then when you want to sit on it, simply tuck it away underneath the couch.

As always, the most important part of teaching your dog to stay off your couch or to invite him up onto it is clear communication and consistency. If your dog is going to be allowed on the couch it's important to teach him the following commands - "up-up", "off" and "spot". All puppies should also learn to Sit-for-Pets and Sit-and-Wait for permission to do things or to gain access to something. Start off by asking your puppy to sit every time he approaches you while you're on the couch and then give him lots of praise and pets, or drop a treat on the floor by your feet. Keep randomly rewarding your dog with pets or treats for staying on the floor instead of hopping up onto the couch. If your puppy tries to jump up, block him gently or quickly put him back down on the floor. If you have an especially frisky puppy, keep a drag line leash on him and simply step on it to prevent him from trying again.

Teach your puppy to go to his "spot" by luring your puppy onto the bed and clicking when all four paws are on it. Treat your puppy by placing the treat on the bed rather than feeding it straight to his mouth. Then tell him "Ok!" and have him step off the bed. After luring and clicking and treating another three times, point to the bed without a treat in your hand. Click and treat when all four paws on the bed and say, "Good spot!". Once your puppy is starting to gravitate to the spot and is learning the game, attach the cue to your hand signal, by saying, "spot" and then pointing to it. Click and treat once your puppy is on his spot. Keep practicing this exercise and move farther away from the bed as your puppy's understanding increases. Then start asking your puppy to go to his spot while you're sitting on the couch. Practice this for at least 15 minutes everyday with lots of repetitions until your dog thinks that his spot is the best place to be.

Taj demonstrating his Zen dog napping skills (on the couch)

Once your puppy grows up and learns that the couch is off-limits, you can train him to jump up onto the couch when given permission. Ask your dog to sit at your feet and then pat the couch and say, "Up, up!" to invite your dog up. Ask your dog to lay down next to you and praise him, then ask him to get "off" by pointing and looking at the floor. If your dog is not getting off, lure him with a treat and click when all four paws touch the ground. Do this three times, and then point and look at the floor while saying off without the treat in your hand. Click and treat once all four paws are on the ground. Also, make sure to drop the treat onto the ground. Make a game out of it by asking your dog to jump up and off the couch several times in a row. It reinforces the good behavior and it also helps to burn off a little energy. If your dog tries to jump onto the couch without your cue, completely ignore the behavior and walk away. If your dog isn't getting the message, leave the room entirely. Your dog will quickly get off the couch and come to you. Withholding the attention and the treat will give your dog the message that he must play by your rules. At this point in the training, you must still manage your dog so that he is only in the room with the couch when you are present, otherwise your comfy sofa may just be too much for your dog to resist.

Whether or not you wish to have your dogs with you on the couch or the bed is a personal decision and whatever you choose, just remember to be consistent. If you let your puppy jump up sometimes without permission and not other times, the mixed message will result in a dog who thinks that the couch is up for grabs. By giving your dog clear, consistent rules, your dog will respect you and your personal space. This way, you will also ensure that your dog does not take possession of the most comfortable spot in the house and make it his. If your dog displays any territorial reactive behavior over the couch, your dog should not be allowed on the couch at all until you are able to completely establish control over the space using clear communication and positive reinforcement. With a lot of clicker training and practice you may be able to one day invite your dog up, but just remember that all dogs that are invited up must be able to immediately get off when asked. All the same rules apply to the bed as well.

Personally, having my dogs cuddle with me on the couch is worth every bit of dog hair and I just love watching my Zen dogs kick their feet in their dreams. My poor house guests probably don't appreciate the hair (little leftovers of super snuggle sessions!) as much as I do and I think my best human friends have learned not to wear black at my house, which is why I also recommend having cute throw blankets on your couch so that you can toss them off when guests come over. A friend of mine has a couch pillow that says, "No outfit is complete without cat hair." Does anyone know where I can get a dog version of this? ; )  

Happy training!

What is a good dog?

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What is the definition of a good dog? According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, a good dog is defined as follows:

Good (adj.) 1) of a favorable character or tendency 2) agreeable or pleasant 3) suitable, fit 4) well-founded, cogent 5) adequate, satisfactory 6) virtuous, right, commendable 7) kind, benevolent 8) competent, skillful 9) loyal 10) free from sorrow or infirmity

No wonder the word "good" is dog spelled backwards with an extra "o" in it. Dog (n.) 1) A highly variable domestic mammal closely related to the grey wolf 2) A worthless or contemptible person 3) An unattractive person; especially: an unattractive girl or woman

First off, I think the third definition for the word dog is highly offensive because I only wish to aspire to the greatness of a dog. Secondly, this definition does not even capture the depth and meaningfulness of what it means to be a dog. And finally, if Merriam Webster is reading this right now, I think you guys need to revise the definition to be more like this...

Dog (n.) 1) a highly intelligent, intuitive, social domestic animal that comes in many shapes, sizes and colors 2) a loyal friend 3) an adventurous companion 4) a soulful creature who is capable of teaching people a lot about life, love and happiness 5) a working animal who's biggest job is being a human being's best friend 6) a highly motivated animal who will work for food, toys, attention and praise 7) a sensitive animal who will never forget being mistreated 8) an animal who deserves to be respected and appreciated 9) capable of learning over 200+ words/commands 10) has over 100 million olfactory cells in its nose 11) sees color on a blue to yellow spectrum, does not see reds, sees a lot of grey 12) has exceptional hearing 13) loves to play, sniff, run, romp and roll 14) loves to sleep and eat 15) loves to love people

I always ask clients what their idea of a good dog is before we start training their dog. Yes, we all want to have a good dog, but it's so important that we define what that means. Do you want your dog to have a reliable recall? Do you want a calm dog who greets you at the door without jumping? Do you want a dog that keeps their paws off the counter? A dog who brings you your slippers in the morning? A dog who stays when you ask him to? Etcetera. It's important to break down all of the specific "problems" that your dog has so that you can start learning how to effectively train and manage your dog to modify his behavior. Most importantly, it's very important (very important) to visualize your dog being a good dog and then look for and positively reinforce any and all good things that your dog does. Human nature tends to have a negative bias and we are very good at giving a lot of attention to bad things. Train yourself to look for the good in your dog and your dog's behavior will immediately start to change all around. Sometimes I think using a clicker to train animals does as much for the human as it does for the animal. It trains people to look for the good behavior in order to give a click for it. Write down all of the "bad" things that your dog does and then re-write it in a positive light. For instance...

I hate it when my dog pulls on the leash I love it when my dog walks loosely on a leash by my side

I don't like it when my dog begs for food I love it when my dog lies at my feet at the table in a down/stay

Then write down your own definition for a good dog. This is my definition...

A good dog is a happy, trained, attentive, balanced, calm, loving, playful animal who follows all of my expectations, boundaries and rules. A good dog waits and looks patiently at me for my cues to allow him to enjoy all of the good things in his life. A good dog is calm and mellow who is happy to lay around all day by my feet knowing that he's going to have play time and exercise in the morning and evening. A good dog can be safely trusted off leash and will reliably come when called and leave things alone when I ask him to. A good dog will follow my benevolent lead based on trust and communication rather than physical and emotional intimidation and aversives. A good dog is a cuddle bug. A good dog can be trusted to be non-aggressive and confident around all people, kids and other animals. A good dog is calm and non-reactive around loud noises, strange objects and new places. A good dog can be left alone in the house without being crated and can be trusted to not make a mess or chew things up. A good dog is quiet and Zen. A good dog is enjoyable to be around and is an absolute joy to spend the best and worst moments in life with. A good dog makes all of your troubles and worries melt away and teaches you how to play and enjoy life. A good dog teaches you how to love everything and everyone unconditionally.

What's your definition?

Five ways to teach your dog to come when called!

Teaching your dog to come to you in any situation is one of the hardest things to teach a dog to do reliably. The reason why it’s so tricky is because it’s so hard to train ourselves as humans to consistently positively reinforce our dogs when they do come over to us. Humans are very busy creatures who are always trying to get from point A to point B very quickly. Dogs are very happy animals because they love to soak in the sights and smells of the moment. We don't find as much joy in smelling lamp posts or spending another twenty minutes at the dog park, and we want our dogs to come right away. If they don't come right away, people get really frustrated and end up calling their dogs over and over again. They start to yell more and more and then once their dogs finally do come, they're so frustrated with them that they may end up swatting them or giving them a big jerk on the leash. Nobody wants to run right over to a person who's a jerk. Instead, you want to teach your dog that coming to you is the best thing in the world, because you may one day even save your dog from a dangerous situation. A reliable recall is the most important command that you can teach your dog. Here's how to do it...

1) When first teaching your dog to come, never call your dog over to you when he is engaged in play or very interested in something smelly and wonderful. You will get ignored and then you will keep calling him and then he will learn that come basically means nothing to him. You might as well be yelling at the top of your lungs, "Keep ignoring me!". Instead, wait until your dog has lost interest in the present distraction, and then capture your dog's attention with an interrupter "kissy" noise and big hand motions. Once your dog looks at you and has taken one step towards you, call him over to you while waving your hand above your head and take a few running steps away from your dog. If you walk towards your dog, he will think that you are following him and he will continue to move away from you. By running away from your dog, he will think that you're running somewhere to have fun without him and then he'll want to get in on the action too. When teaching your dog to come to you, it's very important to always have a reward ready for when he comes to you. Once your dog is reliably coming to you, you can start using the variable ratio method, meaning that you only reward him sometimes and only for really quick and snappy 'comes'. It's also important to vary the different types of rewards and to use a very high value reward (think hot dog pieces or cheese) when faced with big distractions.

2) Call your dog to come for anything and everything good. Meaning, call your dog when it's dinner time, when it's time to go for a walk, when it's time to play, when it's time to cuddle, when it's time for a car ride, etc. Always call your dog consistently and constantly the same way. You should always say your dog's name first and then "come" or if you prefer, "here". So for instance, if your dog is in the other room, randomly pick up a toy and hide it behind your back, then call him over to, "Bruno, come!" and once he comes over to you and sits in front of you, give him the toy you've been hiding.

3) Using a 15 ft long line, a clicker and treat bag full of goodies, have your dog sit and then call your dog to come to you. Then take several fun running steps backwards. The second that dog takes a step in your direction, click and then treat. If you click and treat when your dog approaches you and sits, then he may think that he is getting rewarded for sitting. Also, by clicking right when your dog makes a move, it will make him come over to you much faster. Keep calling your dog while moving around with big, fun, erratic motions. Think of it as a fun game because you want your dog to think that coming to you is the best thing in the world. Be sure to end the game before your dog loses interest in the game to make sure that you're building his drive and motivation.

4) Playing Hide-and-Go-Seek with your dog and a friend will also build up your dog's motivation and willingness to come to you. Have your friend hold onto your dog while you go hide in another part of the house or yard. Make it easy the first few times and then call your dog to come to you. Once he races over to find you, give him lots of praise and a treat or toy. Then hold onto your dog and have your friend go and hide. This game will not only teach your dog how to reliably come to you, but it will also build up your dog's confidence when he finds you and it's a great way to burn off your dog's mental and physical energy.

5) Be very mindful of not calling your dog to come to you when something unpleasant is going to happen to him. For instance, when it's time to clip his nails, clean his ears or come towards anything that your dog is fearful of. You want the command for come to mean that great things are coming to him once he reaches you. If something negative happens, you will be decreasing the behavior and the effectiveness of the command. When your dog is playing at the park, teach your dog to check in with you when you call him over to you and then reward him by telling him to "go play" again, but never put him on his leash and leave when you call him. Instead, just walk over to him when he’s taking a break or getting water and then snap his leash on him. It’s also always good to keep a goody stash in your car with lots of different kinds of treats and toys so that you can give your dog something great when you leave the park. Your dog will want to leave if he gets a goody every time. Same thing goes for at home when you call your dog inside when he's been playing outside. Make sure that the fun doesn’t end when you call him in and then be sure to give him a treat or toy when he comes inside. If you do this consistently when your dog is young, he will have a very reliable recall when he is older.

Most importantly, never ever get frustrated or mad when your dog doesn’t come right away. Nobody wants to hang out with somebody who they can't trust. Always exercise great patience when dog training. Dogs who have very calm, confident and benevolent owners have great recalls. They know that their owner isn't going to punish them for coming over to them and they also know that they just might get a jackpot of good things. Be the happiest human ever and your dog won’t want to leave your side. The happier you are, the faster your dog will start coming to you.

Why does my dog bark at the mailman?

Around the same time every day, many dog owners dread the moment the mailman comes for his daily visit. With the sound of a gate latch, many dogs fly into a manic rage and go tearing through the house to fling their bodies at the front door and bark as though there's a monster in their front yard. Babies start crying, the neighbors grit their teeth and write another complaint letter, and the poor mailman breathes a sigh of relief that the dog is behind a solid door. If this sounds like your dog's daily routine (minus Sundays of course), then keep reading to find out how to stop your dog from terrifying the mailman.

Dogs don't have the best, most sharpest vision. If you hold up a piece of plastic cling wrap, smear it with oil and try to look through it, you'll get an idea of how your dog sees the world. Dogs don't have as many rods in their eyes like we do that allow us to see sharpness and details, which means dogs mostly see the outline of a person. That's why a lot of dogs are often spooked by people carrying large boxes, wearing a big hat, or carrying a big bag. Sound familiar? Most often mailmen are carrying all of these things. Your dog sees a funny shaped human approaching his home carrying a lot of foreign things. So instead of relying on vision, your dog "smells" the world and can smell millions of times better than we can. Which means that your dog can smell the mailman coming from far away. He's also alerted by other neighborhood dogs with his acute sense of hearing.

So why does your dog go bananas when the mailman comes? Dogs bark because they are alerting us to something that they are wary of. Chances are, one of the first times that your dog experienced the mailman coming to your home, he was spooked by the random person carrying large objects and then he barked at him to alert you and to try to get him to go away. Then the mailman turned and left. The next day the same things happened and Bruno got his way again. He has learned through operant conditioning that he can bark and the mailman leaves, which means that his behavior is only going to increase because he gets what he wants- the stranger to leave his property. Chances are Bruno has decided that it's his duty to do this everyday and that the rush of exciting endorphins and chemicals really gets him going. He's probably also pretty frustrated to be behind a barrier, which only increases his aggression at the mailman. He'll just keep barking more and more and may start charging at the door to create even more of an impact to get the mailman to leave. He also probably gets yelled at by his owner, meaning that the mailman makes his owner angry too. This situation happens everyday consistently, conditioning the dog to go bonkers at any signal or cue that the mailman is approaching. Your dog has been trained to bark at the mailman.

How do you stop your dog from barking at the mailman? First off, it's very important for all puppies and any dogs that are new to a home to be properly introduced to the mailman. Proper socialization to the mailman and all other visitors to your home is key to creating a calm dog who is confident and happy around strangers. To do this, make sure you are home the first few times that the mailman or anyone else comes to the house. With your puppy or dog on a loose leash, ask your puppy to sit for the mailman and ask if he would like to give your pup a treat. You can also use your puppy's favorite toy or ball and initiate training playtime every time the mailman comes. Attach good, pleasant experiences to the mailman coming for a visit and condition your puppy to love the neighborhood mailman. You should also socialize your puppy to people who are carrying big boxes, wearing large hats, walking with a cart with a wheels, etc, Taking the time to socialize your puppy will prevent so many "behavioral problems" because you will be building up your puppy's confidence and "showing" him how you want him to behave in all different types of situations. If you let your puppy decide how he naturally wants to act, you may end up with a barking mailman terrorizer.

What do you do if your dog has a full blown pattern and history of barking at the mailman? It's very important that your dog is safely secured and managed. Keeping everyone safe is critical because your dog can be taken away if anything horrible should happen. The first step to counter conditioning your dog is to make sure he is properly managed before training even takes place. Manage your dog by making sure that he does not have access to the place that he would normally run to and fly into a rage. This may be the front door, a window or a couch where he can perch on and bark. It's important that he can not see the mail carrier coming and going. Also, to start breaking the pattern and habits, you have to restrict access from the place where he would normally go crazy. This is especially important if you are not home when the mailman typically comes. Chances are your dog also goes crazy when anyone comes to the front door, including yourself and other guests. So it's very important that you start with staying very calm when coming and going from your home. Do not give your dog any attention at all, until he goes and lays down calmly. Then call him over to you and ask him to sit for pets. Same things goes for guests, they must completely ignore him until he is calm and then they can ask him to sit and give him treats. You may also have to put your dog on leash so that you can manage him safely if he jumps on guests or reacts to them aggressively. Positively reinforce your dog for acting calm and quiet with guests, in order to calm him down around anyone that may be coming to your home.

The second part to counter conditioning is to desensitize your dog to any noises that signal that someone is approaching your home. The mailman may have to open a gate latch, open the mailbox, or put mail through a door slot. Using a clicker, set up the scenario with a friend and counter condition your dog to the stimulus. To do this, for the first ten times, click the moment that you hear the stimulus, before your dog begins to get excited. Then once your dog starts to hear the noise and look at you, attach the cue, "quiet" and then click when your dog quietly looks at you. You will know that your dog is getting it when he hears the stimulus and automatically looks to you instead. If there are multiple things that the mailman does that sets your dog off, isolate each one separately. Try to think of how your dog is experiencing the situation to figure out what gets him to react and desensitize him to all of the noises and situations that occur when the mailman comes.

With your dog safely on leash (and maybe even muzzled depending on the severity of your dogs reaction to the mailman), introduce your dog to him or her and ask if they wouldn't mind treating your dog several times. If your dog refuses to even come close to the mailman start off just by clicking and treating every time your dog looks at him or her without barking. If your mail carrier is not available to help out, you can also teach your dog that the presence of the mailman coming means party time. Try to catch your dog right before he starts to bark and then toss a handful of smelly yummy snacks all over the floor away from the door. Or you can whip out a bully stick and ask your dog to sit for it, and then give it to him so that he can happily channel his energy into chewing on it. If your dog is really ball or tug toy motivated, keep play time for when the mailman comes. It's important to try to catch your dog before he starts barking in order to change his emotional response.

If your dog does go completely ballistic, keep a drag line on your dog while you're at home with him (never leave a drag line on your dog when you're not home and never put a drag line on a choke chain), so that you can calmly pick it up and lead your dog away from the door into another room. Once he's stopped barking ask him to sit and make sure that your dog is calm before you open the door and let him leave the room. If you let him out and he rushes back to the door barking, pick up the drag line again and put him in the room. Taking your dog away from the space where he becomes unglued, will help change his emotional response and allow your dog to focus on you so that you engage him in a positive, fun training game. Remember to keep yourself unemotional and calm as well. If you are frustrated and upset with your dog for acting this way, you'll only fuel the flames with your intense energy. Be calm and quiet so that your dog can sense your positive, unaffected response to the mailman. Remember that counter conditioning your dog's response to the mailman will take time and will not happen over night, but with consistency, patience and some fun, your dog will learn to love the mailman. Your mailman, your neighbors and your dog will love you for it!

Happy training!