Training an uncontrollable dog to listen! Reality dog trainingThis video is sponsored by PupBox! Get 50% off of your first PupBox when you sign up for a multi month subscription. Enter code ZAK
In this video we’ll continue to work on Moira’s reactivity to dogs As well as teaching her to behave calmly and settle down inside the house while stopping begging at the same time.
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I think this is our first actual Argument as a dog and trainer team Moira has shown great progress on heel Nice looking heel there huh i feel like Today we’ve had The single biggest breakthrough of our Entire journey This is moira and i’m zach george moira The german shepherd dog is looking for a Home and i’ve only got Two weeks to teach her how to behave so That someone will be willing to adopt Her okay we have a situation And as you can see it’s not going to be Easy if that was a dog She would be like i’m not paying Attention to you i’m paying attention to That I will train this dog Shake yes much better Look at me is she getting trained this Is reality Dog training I only have a little bit more time with Moira so my efforts are going to be Really concentrated with my remaining Time and getting her responsive And comfortable and obedient in the real World but in all seriousness remember it Can take a year or more to actually Really train a dog that’s because There’s no way to give your dog life Experience in a short period of time That prepares them for the multitude of
Different situations in which you expect Them to listen to you Trying to remember exactly what to focus On each month with your dog over that First year or so can be a lot to handle And that’s where pup box comes in What makes pup box different from other Boxes is their emphasis on training your Dog giving them a listen to you so with Pup box you don’t just get toys and Treats you get general supplies along With toys and treats and the Surprisingly detailed training card both Front and back to keep your training on Track This has got to be the most perfect toy For moira that has ever been created Look at that As a trainer i really count on a dog Being interested in a currency when i’m Training and nothing gets a dog Interested In training like a brand new toy oh boy Look at this A becco bone so it’s like a fetch bone But you can put treats in here just to Make it a little more engaging for your Dog Nice and flexible she’s instantly into Just everything Here’s some oral care gel for her brand New german shepherd teeth and we get Some more dental care chews here which Are great oh look at this chicken and
Sweet potato cheese i’ve never seen Anything like this before So it looks like we’ve got everything we Need for today’s lesson and more Especially those of you with a brand new Puppy under a year old pup box can make A huge difference And all of you can get 50 off of your First pup box by going to pupbox.com Zac and using coupon code zach when you Sign up for a three six or 12 month Subscription That’s a great deal i’ll have a link Below so we have the advantage here of Being able to Play with moira while we have dogs walk By in the distance Back here and i’m hoping that’s going to Make a little bit of a difference with Her in other words get her behaving Normally With dogs relatively nearby i’m just Going to try and keep her engaged in This game she’s just spotted the dog Good Go nice work girl good Come here she’s looking at the dog dog’s Barking at her come on I’m willing to make compromises by not Expecting moira to bring the ball back To me perfectly in order to keep her Focus On me and the game it’s hard to resist a Barking dog i understand
She’s running around from excitement let Me see if i can get her back on the ball Here we go i’m not insisting on Perfection i’m just trying to get her Attention loosely on me right now Because we know she’s really excited You can hear the dog barking still there She’s still excited about the dog but She’s still picking that ball up so it’s A really Effective currency and even though she’s In and out right now they’re in and out Before they’re All in this is the kind of thing i’m Hoping to continue to get improvement on In my last few days moira ready good Called her off a dog For the ball there and albeit you know We have to be about 100 yards away or so But that’s fine for now that’s where you Start And that’s the goal of this series to Give you realistic places to start Not to try and make me look good like i Can train a dog Like a wizard but to really just show You the actual steps i go through to try To get a dog compliant over a more Extended period of time we’re about to Go on a hybrid walk out here Which is basically a free walk and a Training walk mixed together i’ll Explain that in more detail in a minute But
She has to know how to stay at this gate As we’ve gone over before so i just want To see if she’s shown any improvement Here let me go slow anytime i’m Presented with a door a gate or some Kind of barrier like this i love to Practice stay at those specific Locations if you do this 15 to 30 Seconds at a time during the first year Of training at virtually every door you Encounter with your dog They’re far more likely to generalize This skill and it’s an important one as You keep practicing this you’ll Eventually notice your dog starts Looking up to you as if to say hey are We allowed to go out of this or what And that’s a wonderful thing so she’s Earned a nice little sniff break and That’s exactly How i plan to start my walk stay Here okay good girl it looks like They’re maintaining the levee out here So you can imagine all the smells kicked Up from that which matters when you’re Training a dog dogs are made to Consistently be processing the smells of Their environment i want to hit this Point really hard Here just to make it crystal clear let Your dog Adjust to new environments before you Start training them This is extra important the more
Inexperienced they are with training Hey good girl moira you’re behaving like Such a good dog right now Look at that ah when your dog does that In a public environment Count your blessings especially when They’re an energetic one like this one Does that look like a dog who is on edge Ready to bark and lunge at something or Does that look like a dog who’s like Cool i’m enjoying myself on this Beautiful day i mean she’s alert she’s Looking at things but look how relaxed She is I’m gonna learn from my mistake Yesterday and immediately create Distance and not wait so we got a dog in The distance there Dog playing fetch as a matter of fact Very exciting dog i’m also using a 10-foot lead out here today This is a really nice length for a walk Like this with a dog like this i didn’t Want to quite go with the 50-foot lead i Figured that was a little too much Freedom in the event That she did react to a dog moira here Come on Ah let go that’s a dead fish let go go Good girl hey here you go sit She actually let go okay let’s get away From that fish Right here i’m just hoping that she’ll Zone out a little bit and be really
Content in her environment Moira here yes And so beautiful good girl I just love how she came to me right There she was pulling i called her one Time she was like okay Now i’m gonna let her be free again so This is how we’re phasing in Teaching them to come to us in the real World when their mind is truly elsewhere When they are focused on other things Let’s see hey moira come here Yes good girl Getting low like that if you can you Know to try and bridge that eye contact Can be really helpful as well Using body language like that dogs seem Really responsive to that i mean of Course ultimately you want them to Understand What our words mean too but it’s a good Idea just to be ultra clear and have Many ways to communicate with your dog And so i’m very pleased with how she’s Behaving right now You might remember in contrast with our Past series with conan the puppy we were Going downtown we were going to the French quarter and lots of more Populated areas but that’s because kona Reacted differently in those types of Settings here we’re in a big open field With only some distractions from time to Time and the reason we’re doing that is
So that we can solidify our Communication Without all the distractions see when Your dog is overwhelmed you can’t really Expect them to retain And understand new concepts when they’re In that state of mind that’s why we have To be very careful About the environments in which we train Our dogs moira here Let’s go this way and this time i’m not Going to reward her with food I’m just going to let her continue to Check out the environment which is also Very gratifying to her i don’t think She’s disappointed That we’re changing directions you know She is enjoying smelling the ground and Watching the runners and bikes and Everything else out here okay let’s go Back this way girl Come on yes I like how she came up there it’s almost As if she was saying hey can i get a Treat now I’m happy to give it to her right now Moira Here I’m going for heel Yes there’s no doubt that it must be More challenging for her Out here in this environment versus the Backyard or versus inside the living Room
Here yes Moira has shown great progress on heel And we’ve been working on it for only a Few days so i’m still Rapidly rewarding her with small high Quality treats for every step or two While she’s in the right position when We first start our lessons Yes Here and with moira once it clicks it Clicks i mean what fantastic attention She’s offering here Remember moira was totally incapable of Giving me even the tiniest bit of her Attention in this kind of environment Not that long ago Yes okay good job nice looking heel There huh See how her turn is looking gotta do the Turn slow she’s getting it Ultimately we want to be able to get This on cue every time rather than when She’s just in the mood to do it but we Can Help by getting her in the mood to want To walk like this more often too So i couldn’t be happier with how well Her heel work is doing out here Slowing down look at that look at how Dialed in she is Here now after that i’m not going to Insist that she heal for the next 15 Minutes and Use all of that mental capacity there’s
More stuff i want to work on with her So i’m gonna let her recover now take a Break and enjoy her environment you see How we’re consistently taking breaks and Trying to be fair to her to let her have Some fun As well so here’s another german Shepherd dog coming up and it looks like Moira is getting pretty aroused so i’m Going to get down and hold her harness To make sure i keep control of her My goal is to keep her under threshold Here so if you couldn’t pick up your dog Another thing you could do is perhaps Hold them Like this just to really secure them so They don’t wear you out I mean i understand how it is with a Strong dog stay So here i mean she’s excited she’s still Semi-stable Stay this is a really good example of Trying to work just Under moira’s threshold definitely Borderline though but as you can see She’s really on the edge of being able To contain her excitement and listen to Me instead This is what training on the edge of Your dog’s working distance looks like This is the root of reactivity training Find your dog’s working distance Practice right there where you’re just Able to get their attention and over
Time that distance will get shorter and Shorter we’ve obviously still got some Work to do But we’re starting to see the light bulb Go off more and more with moira Definitely trending in the right Direction and to be clear my goal Isn’t to solve reactivity outright in Two weeks my goal is to make it easier To call her off of other dogs in this Type of situation so that her new home Can use that foundation To keep working on this moving forward i See a dog in the distance here so i’m Going to preemptively create some Distance To avoid an all-out reaction from her She’s noticed the dog Yes here very nice reaction there she’s Looking at the dog but not in a way like It’s i have to get to you right now As this dog gets closer i’m gonna start To draw On a lot of these skills that we have Taught her i want to get her mind on to Training Paying attention to me so at first i’ll Call her but calling her over and over Again Is likely to get boring to her so i’m Going to ask her not only to do her Basic skills let me see if i can get her To do something Like shake or maybe do bowed yes
Yes the goal isn’t necessarily to put on A spontaneous performance and display More restricts to the world The goal is to give her practice paying Attention to me in a variety of Different ways while doing a variety of Different tasks in this moderately Challenging situation for her the point Is she’s focusing on me Listening to me here and sure i’m giving Her a lot of motivation we’re using Great treats i’m trying to make it as Fun as possible but that’s how you do it In the beginning this has been a really Good success for her this i mean we’re Still at a pretty good distance But as recently as yesterday this would Have proven Too close for her looks like we’ve got Another dog coming up As well there’s a bit of a conflict in My mind like i just gave her some pretty Intense training mentally having to Really focus on me with that other dog And if i just keep doing that over and Over again she’s likely to burn out I’m hoping that we can just keep our Distance here Let the dog pass at this significant Distance and maybe she’ll feel content To Just keep walking with me maybe i’m Being optimistic here So here’s an example of using a moderate
Amount of leash pressure i gently Pulled the leash in my direction while She was still under threshold To help her hear my request for Attention now this is a far cry from Popping the leash as a harsh punishment For not paying attention to me Nonetheless this is still technically a Physical correction and i want to be Completely transparent about that i use The same logic here that i would use When taking a child by the hand If they’re a little too distracted and i Need to get their attention in the Moment i consider This the least aversive method that was Likely to be effective I’m having to really give her 150 Of my attention when i’m working with Her in this situation and she’s Acknowledging the dog but i am able to Get her to consistently pay attention to Me and remain Under her threshold which i think is so Important okay this way come on Real tough here moira Yes good job Well done so i haven’t seen an all-out Reaction to another dog today which is Huge news because In pretty much every training scenario I’ve had in an environment where there Are dogs i’ve had some kind of outburst With her and so
Today we came close to an outburst but We didn’t have one thankfully fingers Crossed we can get home now i mean i Would do this every day as needed until I saw improvement it could be anywhere Between 30 days 90 days could be up to a couple Of years with some dogs depending on What their background is Moira has developed a habit of begging For food and even jumping up On the table to invest i mean do you get Moira come here let’s go We keep our dogs on leash for that very Reason so we do have Control over them stay generally when we Do catch a relapse we have both been Trying To redirect or show her what we prefer To do Instead but today we’re adding Difficulty to it by having food right Here Before we can let her off leash i want To know that if i put down a piece of Chicken like this That she’s going to know to leave it Alone if we ask her to you can see that Moira was very rudely asking for food Just now we were all set to film the Scene but then moira started acting like This and i could tell this lesson was Not going to work with her in this Current mental state you can see how
She’s amped up chewing the leash trying To get me to play That’s my cue to give her some exercise Right now she’s not yet ready for this Subtle lesson Until i get that excess energy out of Her and it’s not just about the physical Energy here it’s about stimulating her Mentally So by throwing in some heel training Along with her fetch not only am i Getting Some extra training in on that very Challenging skill but i’m also getting Some extra bang for my butt Because i’m getting her satisfied Mentally in addition to physically Really nice heel for the ball there hey Look at this she sees a crow at close Range let me see if i can call her off The crow see how she’s fixated Moira here come yes go I mean that’s why we want to get our Dogs really into a toy if we can It’s not just that she’s completely Tuned the crow out i mean you can see She Has the ball she brings it back okay yes But she’s also happy to oblige in a game Of fetch too Today her impulse control has been Noticeably better than just yesterday And the day before but i fully Understand if there’s a relapse or she
Takes a step back because dogs do that Too And it’s not also you’ll have to do this Every time you want your dog to settle Down but when you’re introducing a Concept You want to do it in a real deliberate Way and if i can predictably get her To calm down a little bit by getting her Freshly exercised it’s my view that that Will Expedite the training process okay back In the house let’s see if we can Actually make some progress on moira’s Stop begging and settle down training I’m gonna let her just Pace i bet she’s gonna find a cold spot And lie down At which time what do you think i’m Going to say i’m gonna say Settle relax i like to have a couple of Different words for it but I think she’ll understand the way to Teach your dog is settle though Is to teach it in context you’re not Rewarding or acknowledging a specific Physical position like a lie down you’re Acknowledging A state of mind a calm relaxed state of Mind Keep in mind that for dogs begging for Food is extremely natural and we can’t Rule out the fact that she’s been Reinforced with this in the past notice
I’m not using food for this particular Training session I’m really relying on the fact that she Understands a Broad generalized leave it at least a Broad generalized leave it inside like This We’ve been working on that with moira Since she’s been with us this isn’t Something you would want to do on day One with a new dog because you really Want to have some pretty good existing Communication in place First no ma’am you’re not gonna get this This is not for you This is to tempt you it’s a trap But you’re doing really well This is a fantastic moment of a pretty Significant disagreement between moira And i I think this is our first actual Argument as a dog and trainer team To me at this moment moira appears to Really understand that i want her to not Eat that chicken but she wants me to Understand that she would rather eat That chicken so we’re gonna have to work Through this And you can’t have it really no I’m sorry here come on over here leave It Come nope come good girl yes Sit since she’s so fixated i’m going to Give her
Something else to do so we bring her Over here and look at that that got her Mind right off of the chicken sit Down this is from our pup box and toys Like this that keep their attention can Be awesome for training just like this Like all good relationships oftentimes Compromise is required She’s in her own world this is really What settle is about relax Do your own thing and just chill out oh Good girl you’re doing a good job Settle this toy is pretty cool here it’s Kind of a challenge to pull those Out of there the chicken’s right there And she’s focused on This so i’m happy about that so when Your dog is relaxing like this Teach them the word settle or relax or Anything else you want to say to them Settle This is a really good example of Capturing a behavior Happening naturally and putting a word To the action It’s the kind of thing that happens Somewhat gradually but then you realize Like My goodness my dog is really catching on To this concept Isn’t that amazing that we can Communicate to our dogs To achieve a very specific state of mind Gonna remind her that the chicken’s here
Just to really reinforce leave it alone Hey nice job you see that leave it alone So your challenge as a teacher is to be There and really be in tune with your Dog so As they start to relax you’re there to Communicate to them what they’re doing When they do it in that very specific Context So we’ll continue to work on this with Her and hopefully keep her on the right Track A little bit later we were outside and Something really significant happened With moira We were just shooting some photos with Moira and both of us notice holy cow There’s a dog coming And we know how delicate she can be with Dogs so i quickly Escorted her down here and a beautiful Thing happened i was able to keep her Attention Almost exclusively on the ball playing Fetch with that dog At by her standards extremely close Range She still showed a lot of interest but i Was able to get her back which was the Really encouraging thing to me I feel like i’m able to channel that Desire to play into a game of fetch To really keep her satisfied it’s kind Of like fine i’ll let you play but let’s
Do this instead And she’s starting to be open-minded to That Here sit Look at me stay okay good Very where the dogs do let go good girl Come on Did you hear one growl at her no it did Oh wow I’m so proud of her [Music] I mean truly she’s exceeded my Expectations honestly I feel like today we’ve had the single Biggest breakthrough Of our entire journey i’ve never been Able to get her To pay attention to me around dogs at All even with a toy Or with treats or anything so in Hindsight it really Appears that building her desire and Interest in certain toys Has proven to be a really effective Training strategy with her I think that’s the secret with higher Energy dogs when we were doing the Lesson Earlier with her on leaving the chicken Alone and teaching her to relax She was getting a little wild there but Even that to me Was like oh my gosh once she decides to Break through she just breaks through
And gets it so i was really proud of her Like super proud of her more proud of Her than i’ve ever been Throughout this entire journey with her So i feel good Episode 11 is gonna be very interesting Get fifty percent off of your first pop Box when you sign up for a three six or Twelve month subscription by going to Pupbox.com Zac and using discount code zack Subscribe to this channel follow us on Tik tok instagram And even facebook get a copy of both of My books too i will have all of the Links in the description below See you next time You