Day Two!

On Monday I went back out to the kennel, this time to take pictures as well as work with the dogs! I had a great time and I am very excited about the progress in some of the dogs. This time I brought my own treats and my clicker. The dogs that I introduced the clicker to took to it like a charm, which was exciting for me because I've never had much experience with clicker training. Now that I've given it a serious effort, I'm definitely sold! It is fun for me to learn new training techniques alongside these dogs. And there is such a variety in this group that I don't think I will ever run out of new challenges to conquer.

Anyway, on to the dogs!

Black Bandit, the lab, was very unsure of himself and very insecure when he got out of the kennel. However, I took it slower with him than I did last week, and didn’t try getting too far away from the kennel too quickly. As long as I didn’t try to go anywhere and allowed him to lean against me for belly rubs, he was calm, but always looking back at the kennel. To get him farther away from the kennel, I simply backed up three or four feet and encouraged him to follow me for more petting. He remained calm and not fearful as long as I didn’t try to rush him. He refused to take treats the whole time. He really is a very friendly dog, but quite clingy. I wonder if he might suffer from separation anxiety. I don’t know whether I will be able to really help him gain confidence; I think the best thing for him will be to have a home and family where he can be comfortable and secure. Even so, it will be important for Bandit to be exposed to new situations frequently so that he can gain confidence.

 

Little Bandit, the small mixed breed, was much less overwhelmed than last week. He paid attention to me and I was able to work on leash walking with him – unlike last week, he was happy to get treats as a reward for walking nicely. He even warmed up to me enough to snuggle up to me for belly rubs.

 Rem was very excited to get out again, and it took him a little while to calm down. He wanted to sniff a lot (he’s a hound, after all), but this time he was more interested in my treats. Instead of walking around with him, I stood in one spot and rewarded him for paying attention to me. I decided that it would be a good time to introduce him to the clicker. Whenever he looked at me, I clicked and gave a treat. Quickly, he started seeking me out and paying attention to me. At that point I started walking around with him, rewarding loose-leash walking, calm behavior, and paying attention to me. By the time I walked him back to the kennel, he was calm and walking very nicely on the leash.

Charlie, the shepherd mix, was far more focused than last week, and he showed me that he is just a pretty awesome puppy. He was walking very nicely on the leash and focused on me very well, so after a couple of minutes of walking practice I worked on teaching him “down.”  He picked that up pretty quickly. I think he is more of a puppy than an adult dog, which is a good thing in terms of training. He is very open to learning new things, and of all the dogs, I think he is the most ready to be adopted.

Paco showed an amazing change from last week, when he simply shut down and hid from me. Part of it was diagnosing the problem – he was afraid of the leash/collar. He had probably never been on a leash before. Once we realized that, it was easy to work with him. He was still very nervous when the collar was on him, but I fed him treats to encourage him to walk around a little bit with me. I also allowed him to sniff and walk around on his own free will, to encourage him to become more comfortable when on leash. I avoided putting any tension on the leash. Then he found a bone in the grass and completely forgot the leash was on! I lured him around with the bone and he was quite happy to follow me around, regardless of the leash. It turns out that he is just as snuggly as his brother, Paulee!

Sadie, the shepherd mix, was still having trouble focusing and was a little wild child at first. However, she liked the new treats I brought and it was enough to keep her attention on me for the most part.  By the end of our session she was very calm and walking fairly nicely on the leash.

Ruby, the Rottweiler mix, was much better behaved than last week. She still wanted to pull me around and sniff, but I managed to get her focused enough on the treats to do a bit of leash training.

Pluto, the blind dog, was a very good dog and caught on to the clicker really quickly. I think it is really good for him to have sound cues to tell him he is doing the right thing.  After a few repetitions of click-treat, he got the message and looked for the treat after hearing the click. This was a really nice change from last week, because when I wanted to reward behaviors without the clicker, it was hard for him to find the treat and so the timing of the reward was always too late. I started working on nose touch with him (his nose to my palm) – he didn't really get it, but since I've never actually taught a nose touch before even with a non-blind dog, I'm not too concerned about the lack of progress, haha. I hate to play favorites, but of all the dogs I think I am most excited to work with Pluto. Not only is he a very interesting challenge, being blind, but he is also very eager to work and has a great attitude.

Adoptability Training - Day 1 Reflections

On Tuesday I rediscovered my purpose in life. I went out to the kennel where a wonderfully caring woman takes care of a dozen homeless dogs. I had contacted the woman a couple of weeks before, volunteering my training and photography skills to help the dogs get adopted. I didn't get a chance to take any pictures, but I had a great time working with the dogs, and my only regret is that I didn't volunteer earlier!

My goal for the day was to get acquainted with each dog, to get a feel for their temperaments and specific training needs. I started by walking each dog away from the outdoor kennel area. For some of the dogs, just getting them away from the kennel was a big step, since they were used to being there all the time. Some of the dogs hadn't left the kennel in months, and a few had never been on a leash before. It was really interesting to see how different each dog was – it is going to be a fun challenge working with each individual dog. Another challenge that I will have to work around is the training area - the only space available is an outdoor area just outside the kennel. Working with dogs outdoors isn't ideal, since it is such a high-distraction environment, but with luck I'll be able to overcome the distractions.

After evaluating each dog, I have to think of a game plan for training. I plan on visiting the kennel 1-2 times per week, and I'll have 10-15 minutes to work with each dog. This isn't the kind of schedule that lends itself to great progress, but even a small improvement in behavior can mean the difference between adoption and being overlooked. My primary objective is to teach the dogs to walk nicely on a leash, especially the large ones. In most cases, this is a matter of getting the dog to focus on me rather than all the super exciting smells outside. Since these dogs don’t get out very often, some of them will need to become desensitized to the new situation before I can really work with them.

At the moment, I'm keeping my method of leash training pretty simple – I’m not looking to teach any of the dogs a formal heel. The basic criterion is “No Pulling.”  When I walk with them and they keep a loose leash, I reward them with a treat. When they reach the end of the leash, I slow down and say “Hey!” or call their name. If they do not respond and continue pulling on the leash, I change directions and walk the other way, to send the message that they don’t get to where they want to go by pulling. The goal is to never allow tension on the leash for more than a few seconds. This prevents the dogs from getting into the habit of pulling – a constant pressure on the throat of a dog that is pulling on the leash just becomes something they ignore. By calling their name or changing directions, tension on the leash becomes a signal to the dog to pay attention to the person on the other end of the leash. Luckily, I will likely be the only person who typically walks these dogs on a leash until they are adopted (normally they are exercised by running offlead in the outdoor kennel), so the dogs won't be getting mixed signals about proper leash behavior from different people. (Of course, the major downside is that there isn't anyone else available to work with the dogs in between my weekly sessions.)

And now, let me introduce you to the dogs themselves! These are my reflections from the day and the goals I developed after getting to know each dog. Everything is a bit of an experiment at this point; as I become better acquainted with each dog I hope to be able to formulate more solid plans.

(Pictures not taken by me)

Black Bandit is a 1-2 year old Labrador who was surrendered because his owner could not afford to feed him. He was very nervous when I took him away from the kennel area. Near the “safe zone,” he was happy to take treats, but when I took him farther away he just wanted to go back. He was very nervous, and when I tried to get his focus on me, he became frantic, trying to climb on top of me and then trying to take off toward the kennel. Instead of trying to get farther away from the kennel, I decided to take him back, but on my terms. When the leash was loose, I walked toward the kennel. When he began pulling me, I turned around and walked away from the kennel (encouraging him to follow me and attempting to reward him for non-fearful behavior). After 20 feet or so, he seemed to get the message that pulling was not going to get him to safety any faster. Of course, he may have simply calmed down and pulled less as we got closer because he felt more comfortable when he was closer to the kennel. Once we were near the gate, he started taking treats again. My goal for Bandit is to help him gain confidence in new situations. It was difficult for me to determine what he is really like, since he was so nervous, but with time hopefully I can convince him to trust me and gain confidence outside his comfort zone.

Charlie is a young Shepherd/Lab mix who was found as a stray. He is a big puppy (and probably still growing) with an endearing, shepherd-y face. When I was working with him he showed typical puppy/young dog behavior. He was very willing to work for treats, but did not focus well. He responds very well to his name, which made him easy to control on leash (each time he reached the end of the leash, I called him back before he could start pulling), but I could not keep his attention for very long.  He also showed fear of passing cars. My goal for Charlie is to work on improving his focus – I think he will be very trainable once his attention span improves (ie once he learns to ignore distractions), and he should be pretty receptive to obedience training.

 Cooter is a 1-2 year old Coonhound mix. He is quite well-behaved and food-motivated. He has been taught to sit and responds reliably and willingly when asked to sit. He walked very well on the leash, despite being a typical hound with his nose to the ground. The only time he pulled was when he found a really good scent, but each time he started going off on a trail I had no trouble getting his attention back on me to remove the tension on the leash. He showed no signs of being nervous and did not react to passing cars. When I walked with him, he kept his nose at the ground, but once I stopped moving and got his attention, he maintained focus on me. My goal for Cooter is to test his leash walking a little more and see if I can stop him from pulling entirely. I think he is also ready to work on some obedience exercises (down and stay).

Fritz is a happy, medium-sized mutt who is very food-motivated. He walked perfectly on the leash, and unlike all the other dogs, I was quickly able to get him to do a nice heel (the other dogs I simply worked on keeping a loose leash, but Fritz was more than willing to stick to the heel position). He was very interested in my treats, but he wasn’t responsive to my efforts to get him to sit; I tried luring him into position, but he lost interest in the lure quickly. I think the reason for his reluctance was that he hasn’t been trained at all in the past, so he didn’t know what I wanted from him. If I can get him to understand that food is a reward for desired behaviors, I think he will catch on quickly. My goal is to keep working on his nice leash walking. I’d like to hold back on the treats and see how he walks when there isn’t food around to distract him. I would also like to teach him to sit, in order to hopefully open the door to more training later on.

 Sadie is a Shepherd mix, about 1 year old, who was going to be euthanized at another shelter. Sadie is very much a typical shepherd. She was somewhat interested in food, but not enough to work for low-value treats.  At first she had no interest in me or my treats and was more worried about everything else (smells, sounds, etc). She was especially distracted when cars went by, making her nervous. She was too excited to walk nicely on a leash or let me do any training exercises, so I worked on getting her to focus on me by giving her belly rubs and praise. Eventually she warmed up and was very happy to be petted. My goal for Sadie is to figure out a way to keep her focused and motivated - better treats, for a start. However, since shepherds are often “one-person” dogs, I think Sadie may not truly blossom until she finds a person to bond with.

 Little Bandit is a cute little mutt  pup. His freckly face is even more endearing in person.I didn't get to know him very well, because he was over-stimulated by being outside of the kennel. He didn’t want much to do with me or my treats, so I didn’t get much of a response from him. He wasn't exactly fearful, but he was very distracted by sights and sounds. The goal for him is to get him used to new situations. Once he is less overwhelmed, I’ll have a better idea of what he is like. 

 Paulee is just an awesome little dog. He is still a puppy, with a puppy's happy outlook. He is very friendly and warmed up to me right away. I bent down to pet him and he rolled over on his back so I could rub his belly - just a cute little snuggle bug! He’s going to make a nice cuddle buddy for someone. As far as leash walking goes, he was very happy to just follow me around wherever I went, even without treats for incentive. I’d like to focus on some obedience work with him (sit, down, stay). I also want to work on teaching him not to jump up on people – he is quite snuggly, but better when all four feet are on the ground.

 Paco is Paulee's brother and polar opposite. When he was taken out of the kennel, he promptly shut down. He hid between a tree and a fence, lay down and closed his eyes. He would have nothing to do with me or my treats. Somehow I'll have to find a way to convince him that I'm not all that scary.

Poco is a 3 year old terrier whose previous owner had to move into assisted living. He is a bouncy little guy who doesn't think his feet need to stay on the ground. When I got his attention, he bounced all over me. It was cute, but not the kind of behavior that wins over potential adopters. When I started working with him, he was far more interested in sniffing everything than paying attention to me. So, instead of walking with him I sat down to pet him. He was happy to get belly rubs and showed me that he can be a really nice little dog. I worked on calling him to me. He was very happy to come when called, but every time he came he wanted to jump up to see me, so I worked on rewarding him for coming to me without jumping up. My goal for Poco is to work on getting his attention so that I can work on leash training with him. I would also like to teach him to sit as a default behavior, instead of jumping up.

 Rem is a hound, hound, hound. The moment he got out of the gate he put his nose to the ground, and he would have been happy to sniff around all day, oblivious to me being dragged around on the end of the leash. I won’t be able to get through to him unless I can get his nose off the ground and get him to focus on me – really good smelling treats might do the trick. The ideal would be to work with him in an environment without so many good smells, but I have to work with what I've been given. I’ll have to try standing in a single spot and waiting for him to get bored enough to focus on me.

 Pluto is a 3 year old mixed breed who loves people, dogs, and everything else. I was told that he had depth perception/vision problems, but I quickly came to the conclusion that he is probably completely blind.

He did not respond to motion or changes in light and dark (I waved a hand with a treat by his face and he did not react even when the shadow passed over his eye). When I walked with him and then stopped moving, he could not find me until I made a sound. However, Pluto responds very well to his name and seems to be food-motivated. Working with him will be a bit of a challenge because he can’t see signals. I think he would benefit greatly from clicker training – the sound of a click to tell him he is doing the right thing will give him confidence and make it easier for him to learn. Working with a vision-impaired dog is something entirely new to me, so he’ll be teaching me as much as I teach him.

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Ruby is an overweight Rottweiler mix who was very excited to get out of the kennel. She was very interested in sniffing and had no problem dragging me around. I didn’t walk much with her because any walking simply turned into dragging (she’s powerful!), so I worked on having her sit and pay attention to me.  My goal for Ruby is to teach her that people don’t like to be dragged.  Hopefully once she is more used to being out of the kennel she will be less excited and a bit more responsive.

Thanks for reading! I look forward to working with each of these dogs and hope that I can help all of them on their way to forever homes.