Before Training Begins

Before beginning any training program, it is important that you understand the following elements to help prepare you:

History of the animal

Before training any species, it is important that you learn and understand the natural history of the animal. Not only do you need to know specific species information, but you should also understand the individual animal's history, Examples are medical history, behavioral history, and life history. Always gather any information that you have on an animal prior to training. 

Record keeping

When you complete a session with an animal it is important that you write down and record information about the session. This is done to keep track of each animal's temperament, behavioral progressions, and exercise and enrichment schedule. Record keeping is extremely important for other volunteers or staff members to continue the animal's progress and also to provide valuable information for potential adopters.

We will be keeping our CLASS training records using a form that is connected to our website. You will receive instruction on how to use this form later on.

"The human element" - anthropomorphism

Before training, it is important to realize that we bring biases to training. It is a normal human characteristic to incorporate our natural history, trait, thoughts, and emotions into our training perceptions. It is how we as humans relate to our world but it is extremely important not to let our emotions and feelings cloud our decision-making when it comes to animal training*

Anthropomorphism:

► The attribution of human characteristics to non-human beings or things.

When working with animals it is important to remember that animals deal With situations very differently than we do. It is important that we learn to read animal behavior and respond to that behavior appropriately, rather than classify an animal's emotional state.

Animal behavior and communication

A dog's main form of communication is through body language and voices. Body language can be read by the way they position themselves or their bodies, recognizing behavior can help humans understand the temperament of the animals and therefore respond appropriately. It is important to first understand how to observe animals closely and be able to identify specific behavior. An animal's behavior will change depending on their motivation. Motivation is affected by appetite, hormones, and social interaction. Moods such as competition, nervousness, eagerness, and aggression are not just confined to the human species.

Behavior:

A behavior is a way an animal responds or acts.

This action or response can be trained or instinctive to the animal naturally. Animals behave in specific ways for four basic reasons:

• Finding food or water
• Social interaction (both with other animals and humans)
• Avoiding predators or fearful situations
• Reproduction

Stand by the kennel door and wait for the dog to calm down. The dog does not have to be sitting—he can be standing, sitting, lying down, or even walking around, but doing so at a calm, leisurely pace, and not bouncing hysterically around the cage. You can try asking the dog to sit using a food lure motion, though this may not work if the dog does not really know the sit cue.

When the dog is calm, reach for the kennel latch. If the dog starts jumping, barking, or moving excessively, remove your hand from the kennel latch and step back. Continue reaching for the latch until the dog remains calm. Then open the kennel door a small amount. If the dog starts jumping, barking, and/or moving excessively, close the door and step back.

Once you can open the gate, the dog likely will start acting hyper again. If the dog jumps, immediately turn your back on the dog and exit the area. Wait 30 seconds, with your back/head turned away from the dog, and then turn around and try again. This can get quite frustrating depending on the dog, so again, remember to be patient. Each time you leave the dog when the dog behaves inappropriately, he is learning that his actions are producing an undesirable result. If you try repeatedly with a dog for 5-10 minutes and cannot get near the kennel without the dog jumping, try working with another dog and come back to the first dog later.

If you enter the area and the dog is behaving excitedly, but hasn't jumped , you can try keeping your back to the dog and waiting for the dog to calm down, or again, you can try asking for a sit. Once the dog has calmed down, you can turn around and give the dog your full attention—smile gently at the dog, and warmly, but not excitedly, praise the dog.

Attach the dog's leash, and wait for the dog to calm down again if necessary, and then exit the kennel, waiting for calming behavior as you did when entering the kennel.

2. Exercise/Play

Exercise/Play time is 10 minutes of free time for the dog to explore, have a potty break, play, etc. This time can also be structured to meet the needs of each dog. In Lesson Plan 1, you will use the Play Style Assessment" (see the resources section for "Play Style Assessment," a document provided by the Center for Shelter Dogs www.centerforshelterdogs.org, or click here to view the document) to determine what game(s) the dog enjoys playing, and then enjoy that game together. Some ideas for play and exercise include fetch, tug (see "Tug" guidelines in Lesson 3), chase, find it, jumping through a hoop or jumping on and off a bench.

3. Attention/Eye Contact

After the dog has been pottied and exercised, now you are ready to begin teaching the attention behavior. Take the dog to a quiet, low distraction area, either inside or outside, and work on the behavior for about 5-10 minutes. The length of time will depend on the energy level of the dog.

Why teach attention to a dog? Direct eye contact is considered threatening behavior among dogs. Attention can show them that looking directly at you is a safe activity, making giving you attention rewarding to your dog will strengthen the dog's interest in paying attention to you. Attention can be very useful when teaching other behaviors.

A. Start with the dog in any position (sit, stand, down). You want to start in a place that has few distractions.

B. Take a treat and move it up halfway between your face and your dog's. The instant your dog makes eye contact with you, say "Yes!?' (or click with the clicker) and give him the treat, Some dogs will take longer than others to look at you. Be patient!

C. Once your dog is actively looking at you when you hold the treat between your face and his, begin phasing out food. Hold your finger up in the same area between your faces, with no treats. When your dog makes eye contact with you, say "Yes!" (or click) and give him a treat from your other hand.

D. After several repetitions of the dog giving you attention when you hold your finger up, wait for your dog to make eye contact with you without a food lure or hand signal. Don't try to talk to the dog, lure him, or bribe him. This step takes patience depending on the dog! When he looks at you, give him a "jackpot," which is a particularly good treat he doesn't usually get, or a few treats together, and lots and lots of excited, happy praise.  

E. Next, when your dog makes eye contact with you, toss the treat to him, but do it in a way so that the dog has to get up and go get the treat. Continue to do this until the dog is regularly returning back to you and looking at you after he gets his treat.

F. When you find the dog is looking at you reliably, you can add in the "Watch Me!" as he offers the behavior and then reward him. You can also use the dog's name as the verbal cue if you wish.

G.  Slowly increase the amount of time your dog holds your gaze before you reward him. Start with 1 second, then move to 2 seconds, then 3 seconds, and so on. Repeat this same process with the dog for several sessions.

H. Once the dog is offering attention reliably in quiet areas, try working on the attention behavior in more distracting areas, such as in the front office of the shelter, outside, or other places with different noises, sights, smells, and movements.

4. Crate Training

Crates offer a dedicated, den-like space for dogs. Crates are also useful for help with housetraining and for keeping the dog safe when he is not being supervised. Crates can help prevent adolescent dogs and active dogs from engaging in destructive chewing in the home. In addition, crate training can be valuable and helps minimize the dog's stress when the dog must be crated, such as emergency situations or while spending the night at the vet clinic.

Crate training is great to teach shelter dogs. Not only is it helpful after adoption, it can give a dog a quiet place to relax in the shelter environment. Living in a kennel environment can sometimes be comparable to being at camp—there is lots of activity going on all the time, and since the dogs are usually in the same vicinity of each other, they don't have a quiet place to relax. Crate training can be good enrichment because crates can give dogs some needed quiet and down time. If possible, have a crate in a quiet location.

Start crate training by tossing a treat into an open crate to lure the dog in the crate. Do not try to close the crate door; just let the dog enter and exit the crate on his own. Repeat tossing the treat in the crate several times, allowing the dog to gradually get used to the crate.

5. Quiet Time

Work on activities that reinforce calm behavior with the dog. Sit with the dog quietly and groom or massage him. Massaging the dog gently can be a good form of reinforcement that is also calming to the dog. Take him someplace quiet and simply "hang out" with him and be relaxed. Dogs in a kennel environment are overstimulated, so they lose the ability to simply relax, which is what most dogs in a home environment do. (Think how much your own dogs sleep and nap all day!)

Another option is to take the dog back into his kennel run, and either sit on the floor, or bring in a chair, and do nothing." Read a book or a magazine, lay back and relax, and pretend you are living in a home with your dog and are having a quiet moment.

For shyer dogs, squat down and turn your head away. Sit in the run with the dog and spend time with them, allowing the shy dog to come up to you as the dog chooses.