One of my favorite exercises for new students or clients is called Doggy Zen. Here’s how it works: I hold a nice smelly treat in each hand. One hand I put behind my back or hold up close to my chest, the other I close up into a fist and present just in front of the dog’s nose.
I wait patiently for the dog to give up trying to lick, gnaw, and paw at my hand to get the treat she knows is in there. The moment she stops, I click my clicker or say “Yes!” and deliver the treat from my other hand.
Within about three repetitions of this exercise, the dog begins backing away from the “forbidden” treat. I can then start adding a cue for this new behavior, so I say, “Leave it!” Very quickly the dog learns to back up from the forbidden treat when I say “”leave it” in order to earn the reward of an equal or better treat – even when I leave the forbidden treat-hand open.
This technique was named Doggy Zen by one of my colleagues, Shirley Chong, because of the paradox involved – the dog learns that to get the treat, she has to give up the treat.
This is a powerful concept. Fundamentally, it’s about self-control, which can be challenging for young dogs or those who have had little or no human guidance. But over and over I find that dogs can easily learn to give up rude, obnoxious behavior they once thought would gain them a prize, instead getting what they want through polite behavior. In fact, often the ones who most desperately want the item are the fastest to learn Doggy Zen.
I use this technique to teach “leave it” with forbidden food-like items (like crumbs, candy wrappers, dropped medications), the chasing of cats and squirrels, even with other dogs and people if they are distracting the dog’s attention during a training session. “Leave it” is a powerfully useful command!
I also use the Doggy Zen concept to teach polite greetings, loose-leash walking, and waiting at the door. The principle is the same: You want to greet that person? If your front feet are on the ground we’ll approach, otherwise we’ll turn away. You want to go on a walk? We will only go forward if the leash is loose. You want to go through the door? The door will only open if you are holding yourself back. There is additional training I’ll use for each of these, but the fundamental concept is the same.
Take polite greetings; that is, approaching a friendly stranger without jumping on them. You can certainly teach an incompatible behavior, such as “sit,” by requesting and rewarding it – and of course the dog cannot jump while sitting. Even more effective, though, is to use the opportunity to approach this wonderfully attractive person as a reward for doing so without jumping – and you can use the loss of that opportunity as a consequence of being out of control. (For those of you who enjoy the science behind training as I do, this process is known as “negative punishment,” the removal of a desired item to reduce an undesired behavior).
Part of the secret is to use something the dog wants as a reward for doing what you want, at least occasionally. Dogs don’t get to go through the door every time it’s opened, but they will get some sort of reward for staying back every time, and occasionally the reward will be a release to go through. I’ll go out of my way to let friendly, well-behaved dogs meet friendly people. I let dogs meander from bush to bush, sniff, and mark while on a walk as long as the leash is loose (and there is no apparent need for a more focused, close heeling-type walk). I never give my dog permission to chase a cat, but I’ll practice “leave it” with a toy that’s thrown or dragged at the end of a lunge whip (like a fishing pole) with the frequent reward of being able to go fetch or chase it.
Using Doggy Zen teaches your dog to exercise impulse control. It also shows him that rewards come in many forms, and that they all come through you. Knowing this, your dog will automatically pay more attention to you, which brings more safety, reliability, trust, and love to your relationship.
Stacy Braslau-Schneck trains dogs for individual clients and teaches dog training classes in the greater San Jose area through her company, Stacy’s Wag’N’Train. She uses the latest in education and scientific research in her training and instruction, and her website, wagntrain.com, is a comprehensive source of training tips and Bay Area dog event information.
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