How to reassure your dog when something throws them off

What steps should you take to put your dog at ease if something throws them off. Here’s a look into my first meeting with Riker. As with all new dogs I work with, I’ll run him through some simple tests to get a feel for how he responds to various teaching methods. You’ll see what I do when something unexpected throws him off during our training session. Enjoy!

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So the Star Trek fans you’re gonna be Happy because the next dog coming over Here today is named Riker I haven’t met Riker yet he appears to be in All-american mud click thumbs up for Another video I hope you’re enjoying Them so I’m here with Riker I’m just Gonna play with them and see how he Responds to toys and treats yeah oh yeah That’s a good boy that’s how you get on My good side quick if you’re a dog right If you’ll jump into a game of tug that Quick now I want to see if he’ll Actually work for play that’ll tell me a Lot about how to proceed with this Training sit yes okay oh you didn’t take That good good get it come on it’s okay Oh what’s this he’s lost interest in Tongue it seems let’s see if we can get Him back into it there it is yeah good Give it just took you a second to figure It out all right it’s just over a year Old so I’d say he’s doing real good like Yep Leave it wait wait yes oh go ahead fine No that’s my harm he’s got it in him to Work for tug of war fetch as a currency You got to really know your dog’s Currency before doing much training was And that’s an important part of teaching Them let’s see how he does for treats Now will you sit okay you lie down yes Good right there okay nice we’ll let him Balance up there good good leave it

Alone No yes good so when he leaves it alone And shows restraint and looks at me I’m Gonna reward that just about every time Right now because that’s a really Powerful thing cuz you can see I’m going Too slow for him he’s like you’re boring What are we doing here you know leave it Alone Trying it a little bit longer up here Gimme yeah that was awesome that was Really good here take three now I’m Gonna try and give it some motion Setting it down to one thing Motion is another leave it alone see how He’s a lot more likely to jump to stay Leave it Look at me Riker Hey okay yes good so It’s like I’m leaving alone what do you Want you know but that getting that eye Contact is so important when he’s Distracted for the future so you know It’s a minor distraction in the Controlled environment we gradually work Up from there oh okay what happens when He experiences the training is it when He hears the horn or the vibration or Both or how long after the train is done Does it take him to recover like meant More than 10 minutes Wow Oh wait yeah he’d go come on and sit I Said that was perfect where you lie down To all right I’ll take it Good job counter conditioning is

Protocol in that situation which is Ideally breaking out the chicken if you Can get it to them in the early stages JIT or right when you know it’s coming I Don’t know if the schedule is reliable Or if you can kind of hear it in the Distance it’s a matter of desensitizing Them and creating positive associations Around that so getting them used to the Sounds and also conditioning them that Those sounds equal great things for him Over an extended period of time the more Severe the anxiety the longer it’s going To take all right hey that’s a good Start breaker breaker Will you play tug with this oh good let Go yes go here let’s see some keep-away With frisbee sometimes by doing this Yeah there you go get some more Interested hey you got a good arm all Right nice good see how he’s a little More interested now there you go but Fetch is like an addictive substance to Dogs once they get hooked they’re really Addicted to it but it takes a minute Look at it was it the hammering that Threw him off I heard some hammering in The background okay at least breaker hey What’s this come on what is it buddy are You nervous so we’re out here doing some Fetch training and playing and I hear Some hammering in the background that Seems to potentially be throwing them Often and making Riker a little bit

Nervous if that happens with your dog if Your dog does get nervous it’s important To be patient and understanding with Them you know you can’t force them to Play so if they’re anxious it’s best to Just kind of let them experience it a Little bit I’m gonna do some counter Conditioning with them and see if that Helps so I’m just gonna give them some Treats right now the reason for giving Them treats in this situation is just to Let them know hey there’s still great Things out here and ideally the next Time I hear someone hammer if we do I Think they’re putting on a roof around Here somewhere I’m gonna try and Rapid-fire tiny pieces of this tree to See if that kind of Helps us to move a little bit he’s been Doing pretty good here for a minute so Why don’t I see if I can get him to go Back down here with me we’ll see if we Can get him back into the yard can we Right here good and and this is what I Mean when I say you have to be flexible When you’re training dogs even though we Were doing a fetch training session if He gets nervous or that anxiety starts Arising you have to be able to switch Gears and snap into training mode to Really address the other issues because Some issues are more important to Address than others in this case getting A more comfortable with loud noises and

Things that really bring up that anxiety Level is more important than getting in To play fetch so those are the kind of Calls you have to make when you’re Raising a dog yes oh right there you can Hear you can hear the hammering and look Hey come here Ryker do you want this in look he’s Going up against the fence let me see if I’m getting to come over here that’s Good very good that’s excellent Yes very good see it’s fun now if your Dog wouldn’t take treats in this Situation that means the anxiety is Probably too high and you need to Probably remove them from the situation That’s making them anxious and work them They’re gradually working up to being Able to give them treats where they’re More comfortable he’s now lighting up Again so I like that so that would Indicate get it getting him to play like If I could get him to play around any of Those loud noises that would be even Better so his interest is now reignited That’s very encouraging that we’re Making progress good good boy yes and There’s a patch and I’m gonna really Take advantage of that to play a Vigorous game of tug-of-war because he Really enjoys that so he brought it back That time you don’t want to miss Opportunities where your dog breaks new Ground to thoroughly reward them let go

And also exercise like this is one of The best ways to reduce virtually all Types of anxiety to So these are Facebook questions Facebook.com slash these at George link In the description Katherine asks I Would love to hear about training advice Regarding dogs who aren’t very food Motivated okay yeah that’s a good Question because every dog is motivated Differently now to say that a dog isn’t Food motivated wouldn’t really be Accurate I mean all dogs eat so to say That they’re never food motivated isn’t Accurate but I do know what you mean There are some dogs who are less Motivated in general to do things for Food this is usually an indicator of a Couple of things either the dog is just A generally low-energy dog and it’s kind Of like okay Or it’s a sign that you’re asking them To do something where they’re too Overwhelmed or too distracted because For example I’ll hear a lot of people Say my dogs not food motivated because When he sees another dog and he starts Barking out I mean won’t pay attention To me with the treat that’s not an Indicator that your dog isn’t food Motivated but rather that just means That you’re asking them to do something When they’re just overwhelmed and Distracted of course you’d have to take

A step back and work up to being able to Work with them and those distracting Scenarios as well if possible getting Your dog to work for a toy is always Great too although lower energy dogs Aren’t as likely to work for a toy which Is fine because we have to accept our Dogs for who they are and accept the Currencies that work you may also want To consider using a higher-quality food Reward something like real chicken Instead of say dry dog treats you wants To know about what should he do if my Dog barks while I’m at work what I’d Recommend if your dog barks at work is To extensively exercise them just before Going to work so they’re less likely to Bark put them in an area of the house Where they’re less likely to bark as Well you might find that if you put your Dog in a bedroom sometimes that they Feel cooped up maybe they’re more likely To bark in that situation and maybe they Feel more comfortable in the living room For example but you know your dog best Secondly really take advantage of Working with your dog on teaching them When it’s acceptable and when it’s not To bark when you are at home you have to Go out of your way to set up training Scenarios where they’re likely to bark For example if you know your dog just Like little bark when you knock on the Door set up training scenarios that

Emphasize impulse control in that Situation I have a With Arwen the barking dog’ that we shot That so that’s a really good example of That also my barking video with Calliope Is good just put in how to train your Dog to not fart you’ll come across my Videos on YouTube Sammy would like to Know about teaching his puppy to be Comfortable when he leaves him alone He’s got a 12 week old puppy and he’s Only had him for three days with a 12 Week old puppy you know it’s leaving That it’s kind of soon to just get them Comfortable with leaving them alone Because they’re still so young so you Kind of have to be tolerant of the fact That they’re going to be a bit anxious When you leave I would encourage you not To leave a 12 week old alone too long it Might be a bit premature but when you do Have to leave your dog alone make sure That you freshly exorcised him before Having to do that to really decrease the Anxiety that he has also when you are at Home get him used to being alone for Short periods of time in the puppy Playpen while you go into another room And you’ll find that if you do those Types of training sessions just after Exercise that you’re a lot more likely To get rapid results Emily says I wish You would explore dog sports a bit like OB rally agility barn hunt scent work

Etc oh those are fun I know I agree Those are fun dog sports are awesome we Do try to emphasize dog sports a pretty Fair amount I mean we have a video Coming out with Sarah and her dog Tomorrow on how to teach your dog Frisbee a really comprehensive video we Did that fun video with Trevor and Daisy About agility I agree with you dog Sports are important and we will we will Keep that in mind as we move our Production board it’s a good tip thank You yes Cindy says I like how you break It down into tiny steps very Montessori How about a video on how to teach your Dog to put his toys away we’ll certainly Consider that one as well teaching your Dog to put their toys away is a bit more Advanced too because you’re asking your Dog to pick up something and walk away From you in many cases this video was Brought to you by our amazing patrons on Patreon so consider joining us over There click thumbs up and subscribe to The channel yeah don’t worry Ryker he’s Number one see you guys bye [Music]