Patrick and Doggy
Little changes in your daily routine can build into something that improves your whole life. At least, that’s what they tell me about weight loss. While I’ve not mastered that, I have seen small adjustments add up in many other ways including dog training.
Dog trainers call this “shaping” a dog’s behavior. All that means is that the best way to teach a complicated behavior is to break it into manageable baby steps. The concept I’m going to share in this column is a “mother” skill. Get this down and every other command will fall into place. It’s called proximity practice.
One of the best things about this cue is that it requires almost no effort on your part. You can do this while you’re sitting on the sofa drinking a glass of wine. You have no excuse not to practice this command, and it will benefit you on every walk you take after your dog understands this concept.
Proximity practice is all about the dog learning that being near you, paying attention to you, is the best choice he could ever make. It rewards him for deciding to check in with you without either overt or implied direction from you. It does not reward him for listening to you. It’s a step above that. It rewards him for making the decision on his own to check in with you.
Here’s how we teach this. You’ll need two types of food. The first can just be the dog’s dry kibble. That’s a low-value treat because he gets bowls of it every day. It’s good, but it’s nothing special. The second treat needs to be more desirable. Use something high value, like cheese, chicken, or hot dog pieces, whatever the dog adores.
Make yourself comfortable. Sit in your favorite chair. There’s no time limit on this. Toss some of the ordinary kibble six to eight feet away from you. Let your dog take all the time he wants to explore and snack. Now this is key, do not pay any attention to the dog. Read, watch TV, knit, but do not look at him, don’t prompt him, and do not talk to him. You just do your thing. When the dog wanders back to within 18 inches of you on his own, give him one of the exciting treats. Then repeat the process.
The lesson we’re trying to convey is that whenever he decides to check in with you without any prompting, it’s a fabulous idea. Best decision ever. Wandering off is okay, but being next to you is well, a jackpot event. We’re not teaching come when called, we’re not teaching sit beside me, we are affirming and rewarding his choice to be near you rather than off exploring on his own. Praise and reward this over and over.
You can toss kibble away from you and reward your dog’s return all night if you’d like. In fact, it is essential to repeat this practice. Of course, your dog is not stupid. Sooner or later, he’ll just park himself next to you because that’s how cheese appears. When he does this, give him one more jackpot treat and then suspend practice for at least 30 minutes. Once your dog agrees that being near you is a party, it will make your walks easier. It will help your dog overcome distractions. SQUIRREL! It will keep him from getting involved in situations that could go wrong or become dangerous. The outside world is stimulating stuff, but if you’ve gotten a good proximity practice in your skill set, you can be just as interesting and exciting to your dog.
Now, where’s my glass of wine?
About the writer: Molly Dugger Brennan, APDT (mollythedogtrainer.com) adores dogs to the extent that her Harrisonburg, Virginia-based training is "so much fun it doesn't feel like work." Her classes include Puppy, Beginner (five months to any age), Intermediate, Advanced, Trick, Private lessons and Therapy Dog. She also certifies therapy dog teams for the Alliance of Therapy Dogs.