Train N Treat: Doggy Life Skill #7 - The Sociable, Confident Dog

Today, in our dog-friendly training tip for enlightened dog lovers - Chief Cheery Officer (CCO) Kiyo shows how learning an appropriate set of life and social skills means he can go almost everywhere!

A sociable and confident dog doesn't have to greet every person or dog that it meets, but it must be able to walk away when it needs to, and that ability to do so goes beyond being obedient. It has to do with its internal state of calmness, painstakingly cultivated by teaching your dog skills to cope with different situations.

Kiyo, CCO (Chief Cheery Officer) of cheerfuldogs.com shows some of the essential life and social skills that make up a good canine citizen - it's all about teamwork and relationship building between you and your dog.

From: Nee Kang (2013). "Survival Among Humans. A How To Guide To A Sociable Dog". In Apple iBookstore (select countries, e.g. USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland).

Train N Treat: Doggy Life Skill #6 - It's Me and My Dog!

Today, in our dog-friendly training tip for enlightened dog lovers - Chief Cheery Officer (CCO) Kiyo shows that it's learning together that creates the bond between a dog and his human!

Kiyo would not have been able to do this
when he first came home as it would have been too stressful.
But as we learned together and the bond is formed,
we could do a lot more together as a team.

Can a dog trained using food rewards 'perform' without food? Of course it can, if you use food correctly, as a reward and not a bribe.

See the teamwork between Nee and Kiyo of cheerfuldogs.com as they play the game of life skills together! 

From: Nee Kang (2013). "Survival Among Humans. A How To Guide To A Sociable Dog". In Apple iBookstore (select countries, e.g. USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland).

Train N Treat: Doggy Life Skill #5 - Teaching "Stay"

Today, in our dog-friendly training tip for enlightened dog lovers - Chief Cheery Officer (CCO) Kiyo demonstrates his staying power!

"Stay and relax!", invites Kiyo.

A "stay" is a 2-part behaviour: "stay" means "don't move", and a release cue, e.g. "ok", "done", "free", or your dog's name, which means, "yes, you can move now". 

There are also 3 components to a good "stay": time, distance, distractions. Start in small steps with time, then work on distance, and finally distractions. You'll run into trouble if you mix them all up too soon.

In this video, Kiyo shows another trick of his trade!

From: Nee Kang (2013). "Survival Among Humans. A How To Guide To A Sociable Dog". In Apple iBookstore (select countries, e.g. USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland).

Train N Treat: Doggy Life Skill #4 - Teaching "Down"

Today, in our dog-friendly training tip for enlightened dog lovers - Chief Cheery Officer (CCO) Kiyo takes his next trick lying down!

Kiyo (L) and Rose (R) are comfortable enough 
to lie down in close proximity

We may not think or know it, but a dog will lie down only when it's comfortable in a particular situation. If there are many distractions that the dog hasn't learnt to cope with yet, you may see your dog lie down for a brief moment, then it bobs up again, and it's unable to settle for some time.

In this video, Kiyo, CCO (Chief Cheery Officer) of cheerfuldogs.com shows how you can teach "Down" to your dog in tiny steps until you get the full behaviour. Note that the verbal cue, "Down" is only said once each time and not repeatedly.

From: Nee Kang (2013). "Survival Among Humans. A How To Guide To A Sociable Dog". In Apple iBookstore (select countries, e.g. USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland).

Train N Treat: Doggy Life Skill #3 - Does Your Dog Really Know "Sit"?

Today, in our dog-friendly training tip for enlightened dog lovers - Chief Cheery Officer (CCO) Kiyo demonstrates that he will sit for, and on everything!

Every dog can sit, but it doesn't always know that the sound of the word "sit" coming from you, means to put its butt down on the ground! Here's how you translate for your dog so that it'll sit promptly and willingly each time, as demonstrated by Kiyo, CCO (Chief Cheery Officer) of cheerfuldogs.com

From: Nee Kang (2013). "Survival Among Humans. A How To Guide To A Sociable Dog". In Apple iBookstore (select countries, e.g. USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland).

Train N Treat: Doggy Life Skill #2 - Use Your Dog's Name Effectively

Today, in our dog-friendly training tip for enlightened dog lovers - Chief Cheery Officer (CCO) Kiyo demonstrates that it pays to respond to his name!

We often use our dog's name in a way that doesn't quite encourage it to respond to it, e.g. we use its name as a verbal reprimand when the dog has misbehaved, or we repeat it over and over again, which essentially teaches the dog to tune out our nagging voice. The dog's name must always be associated with something rewarding, if you want to build a quick response and undivided attention when you call your dog.

In this video, Kiyo, CCO (Chief Cheery Officer) of cheerfuldogs.com demonstrates the practical applications of having learnt his name the positive way. Note that Kiyo receives his reward only after he has made the correct choice, the reward wasn't used as a bribe to get his attention. 

From: Nee Kang (2013). "Survival Among Humans. A How To Guide To A Sociable Dog". In Apple iBookstore (select countries, e.g. USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland).

Train N Treat: Doggy Life Skill #1 - The Name Game

Today, in our dog-friendly training tip for enlightened dog lovers - Chief Cheery Officer (CCO) Kiyo shares the secret of how he learnt his name... or even a new one!

Kiyo responds to his name by looking at us

Every family dog has been given a name, but not every dog knows its name. Just like how they're not born to understand commands like "Sit", "Down" or "Stay", dogs need to be trained to know their names. How do we engage our dog such that when it hears its name, it'll take its attention away from something else to focus on you?

In the video below, Kiyo demonstrates "The Name Game".

From: Nee Kang (2013). "Survival Among Humans. A How To Guide To A Sociable Dog". In Apple iBookstore (select countries, e.g. USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland).