Who's Training Who?

The famous bacon-flavored chew toy

 Today, we’re celebrating. I’ve had Doppler for three days now, and he has gone the last two days without an accident inside. Woo hoo!

When you have a puppy, you start to measure time differently. It’s no longer “3 o’clock.” It’s “one hour since Doppler peed.” Four-thirty is no longer just 4:30 p.m. It’s “quick take Doppler outside because he just ate dinner and he’s going to poop.” Now that I know Doppler’s schedule, I’m hoping he catches on to the concept of housetraining soon. He’ll be two months old on Thursday, and I’m determined to get him housetrained as soon as possible.

Training this puppy is ridiculously fun, and training opportunities are everywhere. Even something as simple as a short walk is a powerhouse of training opportunities. (And it has the added bonus of tiring him out! Yes!) Yesterday, I took Doppler for a short walk around the City of Harrisburg on my lunch break. He walked on all the surfaces, and I mean ALL. Snow, cinder-covered ice, large and small storm grates, brick sidewalks, nubbly handicap access ramps. He didn’t hesitate once, the little champ.

As a service dog, he’ll go pretty much everywhere with his human partner. (SSD calls a person who uses a service dog a “partner.”) He’ll have to be comfortable walking over any surface without hesitating or pulling. My job is to help him experience everything, especially while he’s a little puppy sponge.

While I was typing this post, Doppler came over and sat at my feet. Okay, so technically he tried to hop up on the couch next to me, but after I guided him off, he sat at my feet. I decided to start capturing the “sit” behavior.

In case you’re not familiar with SSD’s training methods, we use clicker training. It’s a positive reinforcement method of training that uses a clicker to mark a behavior, which is then immediately rewarded with a treat, usually a piece of kibble. The dog will then continue to offer the behavior that earned him the click and treat. I love it because it’s easy. Actually, it’s the only way I know how to train a dog, since SSD taught me everything I know about dogs.

Anyway, as soon as Doppler sat, I clicked and tossed his treat a few feet away so he would stand up and have to sit again, so that I could click and treat him again. That repetition would help him figure out that I wanted him to sit, and eventually I could put it on cue.

Or at least that’s how it’s supposed to work. I discovered, however, that Doppler doesn’t chase treats if they’re tossed away from him. He just kept looking at me. Fire, on the other hand, had no problem finding Doppler’s treats. In fact, he tried to horn in on Doppler’s training session, and since his big head is capable of blocking out the sun, I had to send him off for an extended down-stay across the room.

Oh, well. When one thing doesn’t work, try something else, right? Instead of tossing Doppler’s treats to get him to stand up, I simply held his treats out to the side so he had to stand to reach them. Bingo! He sat again, I clicked, he stood to get his treat, he sat again, I clicked and treated—it was great. A few more sessions like that and he’ll be ready for a cue.

(In case you’re wondering, SSD only adds a verbal cue or hand signal after the dog is offering the finished behavior.)

Doppler’s learning things, and I’m learning things.

And now, I’m off to stock up on bacon-flavored chew toys. It’s the only toy that successfully diverts Doppler’s attention when he’s hell-bent on playing tug-of-war with my pants and shoes. 

Om nom nom BACON!