Endangered Dogs Defence and Rescue

When training any dog – whatever breed or age – there are four golden rules.

Reward good behaviour
Anything your dog does that is good should be rewarded. This can be praise, a fuss, a game or a food reward.
The reward should reflect the difficulty of the behaviour eg if he has learnt how to sit several months ago then the reward for sit might just be ‘good boy’ and a fuss. However, if he is still learning the sit the reward should be a game or food treat.

If you can’t ignore, then interrupt and ask him to do something you can reward
Sometimes you can’t ignore the bad behaviour – it might be dangerous eg chewing a ‘phone cable.
In this case you need to interrupt him – clap your hands, call his name – and ask him to do something you can reward eg call him to you and ask him to sit. Praise and fuss.
By chewing the cable he is telling you he is bored – find him something else to do. So, after he has returned and sat have a game/do some training/give him a chew toy (and tuck away the ‘phone cable so he can’t get it again!)

Dogs are like children – if no one is entertaining them then they will often entertain themselves. They do not understand that it is wrong to chew inappropriate articles, to take toys away from the children – they need to learn these things. They also need to have games to play with you or on their own.

Anything that earns your dog a reward (and attention is a huge reward) will be repeated. So if you chase him to get the tea-towel back he has taught you a game ‘chase me’. If you ignore the tea-towel it will become boring. He will look for something else to do and this is when you show him what fun you are to be around by having an appropriate game with him.

Dogs are very specific creatures. If someone asks you to ‘take a seat’ it doesn’t really matter where you are or what the furniture looks like, you will understand what ‘take a seat’ means.

Dogs do not learn in quite the same way. Dogs rely quite heavily on what are known as ‘environmental cues’ ie he sees what is around him and associates them with the behaviour you are asking for.

You might work with your dog in the kitchen and he learns to sit when asked. Later you are in the living room and you ask your dog to sit. No response. You might think he is being awkward but what he is saying is ‘where’s the cooker – where are the clues to what you want’. Seems strange to us but perfectly reasonable to your dog. So, you need to teach your dog in one area then take him to another and teach him again, into the garden, out on the walk.

Each time you explain it to him in a different area he will learn quicker and quicker but do not blame him for not understanding straight away. You will also need to teach him with you in different positions – standing up, sitting down etc.

Until your dog can consistently do an exercise in any area with you in any position, facing different directs you cannot assume he fully understands the word/hand signal for the behaviour.

A reward is anything that your dog finds rewarding – might sound obvious but sometimes we forget that what we think is rewarding is not so exciting to your dog. Experiment to find exactly what he likes. If your dog has no dietary/digestion problems try different foods – sausage, chicken and cheese are highly rewarding for a lot of dogs but perhaps your dog is really excited by a Rich Tea biscuit. Some foods are dangerous to your dog eg human chocolate, grapes, raisins and certain other foods will make your dog very ill so be careful what you choose.

Any treats you use should be small – quicker to eat and it means that you can give more rewards before you dog is full.

You do not want your dog to put on weight so you might need to reduce his food slightly to compensate for the extra food he is eating.

If your dog is on dried food you can keep a portion of his food allocation to one side to be used for training. His regular dried food is okay for routine rewards but you will need to have some high-grade rewards for recalls and for teaching new behaviours.

You may find that your dog is more excited by a game – chasing a ball, playing with a tuggy or similar. In this case you can use a game as a reward. It is slower to train your dog with a game (obviously a game takes longer than eating a small treat) but it is possible to use games just take the training a bit slower.

I have used the word ‘treat’ when explaining the training exercises but if your dog is more interested by a game than food then for ‘treat’ read ‘game’.

Try and find a good training class to take your dog to for basic training.

Contact the APDT** (Association of Pet Dog Trainers) for a local training class, ask friends who have recently trained their dog for recommendations or perhaps your vet may have a list of classes.

Visit any classes you are interested in without your dog. Watch how the dogs are trained – all instructions should be kind and fair to the dog. If the instructor spends a lot of time shouting at the dogs (or the owners!) or pulling and pushing the dogs around then I would suggest that you do not take your dog to these classes.

Choose a class that caters for new owners – it is no good going to a class with owners who are a lot more advanced than you are.

Look for classes with a small numbers of dogs – perhaps 8 – 10 dogs to a class.

If things look okay arrange a time when you can talk to the instructor. Ask the instructor how they reward the dogs, what sort of exercises they teach, how they cope with an anxious dog, or a dog that barks a lot and any other concerns you might have regarding training.

Ask if you can take your dog along to a class to sit and watch before you enrol him.

Not all dogs cope well with being in an enclosed area with lots of other dogs. Perhaps you need a class that is held outside or maybe you need a trainer who will teach you on a one to one basis.

Dog jumps up in the air – you are moving the treat too high and/or too fast
Dog doesn’t follow the treat enough to put her bottom on the floor – is the treat tasty enough? Is it something she really likes?
If she really has no idea what you want, try waiting – chances are that eventually she will sit of her own accord. It might not be in front of you – that’s okay, keep an eye on her. As soon as she sits treat, wait and repeat. You may have to be very patient – she may not sit down for a while so get on with what you are doing and keep an eye on her. Eventually law of physics/anatomy/nature will dictate that she will sit. If your dog genuinely never ever sits – speak to your vet.

DOWN
Most dogs find it easier to learn the down from the sit but often Stafford’s find it easier to use the ‘under the leg’ method (see below).
If teaching from the sit:

She may stay in the sit or stand and stretch her neck down. Remember that she has been rewarded for sit and really wants that treat and doesn’t understand yet that she can get a reward for doing something else.
She may put her head down to the treat and put her bottom in the air. This is an approximation of the end result so reward her for this part down. Ask her again and wait until she has at least gone down as much as she did before you give her the treat. Gradually ask for her bottom to be nearer the floor before you reward. After a few goes you should find her bottom goes on the floor. From then on only reward for bottom on the ground.

Or
A lot of Staffords find it difficult to go to the down from the sit – your Staffie Cross may be the same. If this is the case try

You sit on the floor, legs out in front of you with knees raised to make a ‘tunnel’. If your dog is too tall to go under your raised legs then you can use a chair or table to form the tunnel.
Lure the dog underneath your leg (or chair) – put your hand under your knee so that the lure moves smoothly in the direction you want your dog to go
As your dog moves under your knee she should lay on her tummy treat
When she is going straight into the down as she goes under your knee introduce the cue word
When she is going straight ‘down’ under two knees repeat the exercise with just one knee (do not be surprised if she doesn’t understand immediately – remember ‘generalisation’). When she is comfortable with this stay sitting on the floor but lure her to the side of your leg as you ask for ‘down’. When she is happily going down (on hand signal/word) you can start standing/sitting to ask for the down. Again, do not be surprised if she doesn’t immediately understand.

With your dog in the sit, hold a treat in front of her nose
Slowly move the treat away from her, keeping it parallel to the floor
As your dog follows the treat she will stand up
Keep the treat still and she will stand still (hopefully!) click/treat
When she is getting up as soon as you move the treat, and standing still when she gets up you can introduce the cue word

RECALL
If you are going to let your dog off his lead – in a safe place, well away from roads, railway lines or other dangerous areas – then you have to be confident you will get him back.

Start the recall at home. When you are getting his meal ready call your dog’s name and then the word which means come to me – perhaps ‘come’ or ‘here’. When the dog appears put his food on the floor for him to enjoy. Even if your dog is in the kitchen when you are preparing his food you can still use the word. You are explaining to him that ‘come’ means something good is waiting for you.
Use the same method – name and word – to call him to you at other times. Start really easily – perhaps with him in the same room. Build up to more difficult areas – perhaps call him from one room to the other. You must always reward him when he comes to you – food or game.
When you first recalling him make it really easy – don’t chose a time when he is busy enjoying an activity (chewing a bone or similar).
When he is reliable in the house call him in from the garden – gradually choosing more and more difficult times. Always reward him when he returns.
When you are confident that he is returning each time in familiar areas take him to a safe place – perhaps a tennis court or other enclosed area – and practice again.
If you cannot find a fenced area then perhaps use a long line* – an extra long lead or piece of rope – attached to his collar. Practice your recall with your dog on the long line. Don’t be tempted to pull him in – the line is there purely for safety, not for pulling him in. If you always pull him in as soon as he is off lead he will realise that you cannot pull him to you and may not return.

Practise using it in the garden before you venture out.

Be careful that you do not allow the line to trip up people or to get wrapped round them.
Do not let your dog run to the end of the line at a rapid pace – he could hurt his neck if the line suddenly goes tight when he is running.
Always attach the long line to a flat collar (never use it on a half-check collar) or a flat harness (not a harness that tightens when the dog pulls).

Safety is your first concern

Make sure that he cannot run onto roads, railway tracks, into a river etc if he doesn’t come back to you
If your dog is not good with other dogs then you need to go to a fenced area (where you can stop other dogs coming in) or an area where there are no other dogs).
If you cannot find such a place – use a long line.
Take him to the field on lead. Ask him to sit. Reward. Walk on for a way (away from the gate/car park etc). Ask for the sit. Reward. Release him from his lead and tell him to ‘go play’.
You may find your dog stays with you as you walk – that’s fine. He may go a short way from you and investigate the smells in the field – that’s okay too*.
After a short time (perhaps 10 seconds) call him back to you. On his return throw some high grade reward (sausage, cheese, chicken etc) on the floor near your feet. As he bends his head down to eat the food put your hand in his collar and wait while he finishes his tread. Put him on his lead, give him a big fuss, walk on for a few steps and let him off lead again ‘go play’
Repeat this over and over again on the walk.
On subsequent walks you can make the time he is allowed to run free longer and longer but always stay in the habit of calling him in several times during the walk.
If you only call your dog in at the end of the lead he will soon realise that ‘come’ means we’re going home, the funs over.
If you call him frequently he will not be sure what is going to happen – it’s a gamble. He might get food, a game or the end of the walk. If you call him often enough the chances are that something good is going to happen.
*If your dog rushes off as soon as you release him from his lead call him straight back for a game or food. Walk him a bit further into the field before trying again or get a long line for a while.

Keep training sessions short. Perhaps just a few minutes at the beginning.
Training must be enjoyable for you and your dog
Do not train your dog if you or he is feeling under the weather
If your dog is struggling with a particular exercise either go back a stage or ask him to do something that he finds easy. Then finish the session.
Always finish a training session on a high – something the dog has succeeded at.
Stafford’s are terriers and like most terriers they get bored easily so do not repeat the same exercise more than three times before moving onto practising something else.
It is up to you to find what motivates your dog – if he is not motivated he will get bored and wander off
Never get cross with your dog if he doesn’t understand what you want – think of another way of explaining it to him
When asking your dog to do an exercise use a soft voice – shouting is a waste of time. If you use a normal/quiet voice your dog will need to concentrate harder to hear you.
Do not use physical force on your dog to get him into position – (a) you could hurt him (b) he could learn to distrust you coming near him (c) you can get into a confrontation situation (d)if he is used to you, for example, pushing his bottom down to get him into the sit he will not be able to sit if you can’t reach him (perhaps when he is in the field).

Dog training advice: