Keeping an Older Dog Working and Happy. 1
Keeping an Older Dog Working and Happy
Note: I wrote this three years ago. She’s still working.
Kismet’s nine years old. She’s been my guide for a little over seven years. I’ve retired three dogs before her so when she showed signs of slowing down I was dismayed. She was reluctant to get up and in the harness at work. Once harnessed she was slow to move out. She stopped short of targets that she’s been showing me reliably for years. For no reason I could determine she started turning left where we had turned right a zillion times. It just felt like her heart wasn’t in it.
At home and out of harness she was as zany as ever. If I got out of bed before Jim on the weekends I’d take her out of the bedroom with me and close the door. When Jim came out later she’d go crazy the way she’s always done. She’d dash around the house making her wookie noises, leaping onto and off of the bed and dashing in mad circles around the house.
If Jim or I threw a ball for Sirius she’d grab a piece of firewood and run around behind Sirius as he fetched the ball. In short, her off duty behavior seemed the same as it had always been.
Why the discrepancy? I want to keep this brilliant little dog working happily for as long as I can. I spoke with a trainer at The Seeing Eye. After describing what was going on he confirmed that I was reading the signals correctly. The last thing he said was, “You never know when the last six months of your dog’s working life are going to begin. Don’t make the last six months ruin all the good years that came before.”
Determined to keep work fun and interesting, I began. I started using the clicker at work every time I needed to work her. Before harnessing her I’d play a few clicker games. Things I’ve taught her using the clicker include shaking hands, getting her leash off the doorknob and bringing it to me, kealing over on her side like a dead dog, and spinning. She’d do each task I gave her, I’d click and treat, and then I’d harness up.
While this may have been more fun than just getting up, getting harnessed, and going to work, it didn’t make much difference in her actual work. She continued to move out slowly and stop short of goals.
Then I decided to use the clicker interchangeably, sometimes playing a game and sometimes using it when working. At each destination on a route, each doorknob I needed to find, each elevator button I needed to locate, I started clicking and treating. In the space of a couple of days she was getting up the instant I took the harness off the doorknob. She was instantly moving out when I picked up the harness handle. She was performing her graceful little swoop to the right as she located each doorknob or elevator call button.
In short, I had my Kismet back. Her annual physical was today. The vet confirmed she is in almost perfect health. Now that I know she’s healthy, now that I’ve discovered a key to helping her work happily, I know we’ll have more time as a working team.
There is, of course, no way to know when those last six months will begin. For nowI’m just releived that I have my Kizzy working happily again. Just as I’ve learned a lot about life, death, and dying from my dogs, I’ve also learned a lot about work and retirement.
Note: I wrote this three years ago. She’s still working.
Kismet’s nine years old. She’s been my guide for a little over seven years. I’ve retired three dogs before her so when she showed signs of slowing down I was dismayed. She was reluctant to get up and in the harness at work. Once harnessed she was slow to move out. She stopped short of targets that she’s been showing me reliably for years. For no reason I could determine she started turning left where we had turned right a zillion times. It just felt like her heart wasn’t in it.
At home and out of harness she was as zany as ever. If I got out of bed before Jim on the weekends I’d take her out of the bedroom with me and close the door. When Jim came out later she’d go crazy the way she’s always done. She’d dash around the house making her wookie noises, leaping onto and off of the bed and dashing in mad circles around the house.
If Jim or I threw a ball for Sirius she’d grab a piece of firewood and run around behind Sirius as he fetched the ball. In short, her off duty behavior seemed the same as it had always been.
Why the discrepancy? I want to keep this brilliant little dog working happily for as long as I can. I spoke with a trainer at The Seeing Eye. After describing what was going on he confirmed that I was reading the signals correctly. The last thing he said was, “You never know when the last six months of your dog’s working life are going to begin. Don’t make the last six months ruin all the good years that came before.”
Determined to keep work fun and interesting, I began. I started using the clicker at work every time I needed to work her. Before harnessing her I’d play a few clicker games. Things I’ve taught her using the clicker include shaking hands, getting her leash off the doorknob and bringing it to me, kealing over on her side like a dead dog, and spinning. She’d do each task I gave her, I’d click and treat, and then I’d harness up.
While this may have been more fun than just getting up, getting harnessed, and going to work, it didn’t make much difference in her actual work. She continued to move out slowly and stop short of goals.
Then I decided to use the clicker interchangeably, sometimes playing a game and sometimes using it when working. At each destination on a route, each doorknob I needed to find, each elevator button I needed to locate, I started clicking and treating. In the space of a couple of days she was getting up the instant I took the harness off the doorknob. She was instantly moving out when I picked up the harness handle. She was performing her graceful little swoop to the right as she located each doorknob or elevator call button.
In short, I had my Kismet back. Her annual physical was today. The vet confirmed she is in almost perfect health. Now that I know she’s healthy, now that I’ve discovered a key to helping her work happily, I know we’ll have more time as a working team.
There is, of course, no way to know when those last six months will begin. For nowI’m just releived that I have my Kizzy working happily again. Just as I’ve learned a lot about life, death, and dying from my dogs, I’ve also learned a lot about work and retirement.
The “Hand Touch”
Swiped from the Click-to-Guide list, posted by Ginger Kutsch, August 1, 2015.
You asked for something fun to do with the clicker…if I were going to pick only one thing to do with the clicker, it would be to teach my dog to touch my hand. It’s an incredibly useful trick but it can also be a really fun way to interact with your dog. One game I play with the hand touch is to ask my dog to touch one hand, then the other and back again. I’ll quickly switch my hands back and forth several times before I click. Sometimes I’ll spin around in a circle with my hand held out and Pixie follows with her muzzle resting on my open palm.
The hand touch can also be used for more practical things like maneuver your dog into a specific spot instead of tugging and physically handling your dog. It can be used to refocus your dog’s attention back on you when your dog is distracted or anxious. I often used the hand touch when I would bring my last dog to the vet as a means of taking her mind off being nervous. I used the hand touch to put on my dog’s harness. I simply hold out my hand, palm up, and Pixie rests her muzzle on my open palm while I slide the harness over her head. The hand touch can also be used as another way to get your dog to come. I simply say my dog’s name and hold out my hand so she’ll come. I don’t have a verbal cue, just holding out my hand, palm open, means come and put your muzzle in my hand. Many handlers teach their dogs to touch a closed fist, I have done the hand touch with an open palm because I found it easier to teach duration (holding muzzle in hand) — plus I worry about the public thinking I’m threatening or punching my dog by extending a fist toward the dog.
Perhaps one of the things I like best about the hand touch is that you can do it just about anywhere. I may only do ten touches at a time, while I’m waiting for my turn at an appointment, or waiting for a cab — it’s just really nice to stop for a minute and enjoy a positive interaction with my dog.
Anyway, here’s info on how to get started with the hand touch.
Preparations
- Treats.
This exercise will require a lot of treats so the best thing to do is premeasure your dog’s next meal into a baggie and then remove about 20 pieces or so from the bag. When we’re teaching a new task that’s likely to use up a lot of treats, we need to be aware of our dog’s food intake so it doesn’t gain weight. Also, I found with my last dog that if at least some food did not appear in the dog dish at the usual feeding time –no matter how many treats were doled out in between time – then there was a real problem. Therefore, if you have one of those dogs who starts circling an hour or so before the actual feeding time, you probably ought to be sure not to use up all the food in your training sessions! Conversely, if your dog needs a little more encouragement than just plain old dog food, you can toss in a few high value treats that smell especially yummy like Zukes mini-naturals, tiny pieces of cooked hot dog or chicken, and so on. Add the pieces to the treats you’ve set aside and sort of smush them around together to get the smell/residue on the dog food pieces. Now, for those of you who need nothing more than dog treats, don’t mess with a good thing! <Smile>
- Location
Find a quiet place in the house without distractions. The bathroom is often a good place to start. Close the door. Keep kids, other dogs, loud noises, etc. out. You want the most boring surroundings you can find so that there will be nothing better for your dog to do than watch you.
- Position
Figure out where you are going to set up. If you decide on the bathroom, go look at where you can place a small bowl of treats and where you will be when you begin your training session. You may also choose to keep your treats in a pocket or in a bait bag attached to your belt or waist band. You and your dog will need a bit of room to be comfortable and move around in so if there’s not much space at all, find another place equally as boring where you can start your training. When you start, you’ll need to think about your body position. Will you sit or will you stand? If you sit, be sure that your dog can freely access an extended hand without your legs or other obstacles in its path. If you decide to stand, be sure that you won’t tower over your dog when you extend your hand out. Body language is also important so we always need to be aware of how we are positioned.
- Ready?
Almost. Let’s discuss what our plan will be before we get started. One of the most important skills we need to learn for clicker training is to plan out our training sessions before we get started. Why? Well, one reason is because our dogs are relying on us to set them up for success. If they fail, it’s not their fault, it’s ours. Please re-read that last sentence. If our dog is not learning what we are trying to teach it, it’s because we have failed to communicate with the dog adequately…the blame rests with us, not the dog. As clicker expert Morgan Spector says, ”See behavior, click behavior: What you click is what you get and what you got is what you clicked. If the dog is giving you something you don’t want, it is almost certainly the result of your training, so stop and figure out how you got there. Don’t replicate failures but build on success. My working rule is this: if out of any 5 trials (repetitions) I get 2 failures I stop and rethink.”
Another important point to remember is that slow is fast in dog training. We all have the tendency to move too quickly…we need to go slow. Even when we think our dog has it, we still need to go slow and proceed with our training plan.
- Let’s Do It!
Alright everyone, head to the most boring place in your home that you’ve found…remember, no distractions please! Set up your treats, get clicker in hand, position yourself and then extend your hand out to your dog. Most people choose to close their hand into a fist. Be ready. Your dog will likely touch it out of curiosity or to see what you’ve got…click and treat. With this task, you want to be able to get the treats to your dog as quickly as possible and get clicking again so be sure to position the treats where you can reach them smoothly and quickly. As your dog gulps down the treats, extend your hand out again. You are basically putting your hand out at the dog’s level, not too far from its muzzle. Listen for the chewing noises to help position your hand again If need be. Wait for another touch – no more than 30 seconds – and click again the instant you feel your dog touch your hand. Treat your dog and repeat this exercise several times. You want your dog whipping its head to your hand as quickly as possible. The key here is to build up momentum so that your dog begins to build muscle memory. Muscle memory is what all of us use every day to perform simple tasks without even thinking about it. We want our dogs to touch our hand without even giving it a second thought.
Since most of the dogs on this list have been exposed to the clicker at The Seeing Eye, I’m guessing that most dogs will have no trouble picking up this hand touch exercise. If you do run into problems though, you can start with your target in the palm of your hand. You should feel the dog touch thru the target since the bells will likely not make noise. After about 7-8 touches, drop the target out of sight and extend your empty hand. Be ready to click because you don’t want to miss this first touch without the target. Try to remove the target as quickly as possible without interrupting the flow of your dog’s movements. One way to do this is when your dog touches the target, click and while you hold out the treat, quickly get rid of the target and extend your empty hand as if the target is still in it.
- Homework
For the next few days, retreat to your boring place and perform this exercise. Each exercise should take no longer than a few minutes. It’s better to do several short sessions than one or two long ones.
The goal here is to get your dog to touch your hand when it is extended at the dog’s level near its muzzle. That’s it. Focus on getting this behavior solid. You should be able to click and treat every 3 seconds or so when your dog gets the hang of it.
Step 2: Adding the Cue
First, let’s make sure we’re ready to add the cue. We want to be sure we’ve got the behavior in the form we want. Since we also plan to use our hand for targeting, we want the behavior to be a deliberate touch — much the same way your dog touches your target with the bell. In other words, the dog should be touching its nose to your outstretched hand. If your dog is licking, biting, haphazardly touching your hand with another part of its head or body, etc., withhold the click until the dog uses its nose to touch your hand. You want a solid deliberate touch given with confidence before you add the cue.