Friday, December 25, 2015

A How to Guide to Building an Off-Switch

A lot of people desire a high energy, intelligent dog. And I see a lot of times, when they are looking for a new puppy, they say, "I want a dog who can do this, this, this and that, but also have an off-switch." The thing is that a lot of what makes a good off-switch for a high energy and intelligent dog is the training.

So what is an off-switch? An off switch is the dog being able to relax and calm down when you aren't doing anything with her. A dog without an off switch is the dog that brings tennis balls to your lap, that breathes on your shins as you sit on the computer, that begs with her eyes for you to move and for you guys to do something, and destroys the house out of boredom.
From the first day I brought Pip home, I practiced off-switch and settle behaviors with her. She's a dog that is extremely easy to rev up. For dogs like her, it's important to practice taking a breath, calmness. So often, they live on the edge of imploding with excitement over every little thing: People, food, toys, treats. It's not fair to them and is hard on their nervous systems.

So, I now present a tutorial on building the off switch. This is only a small portion of the training you'll need. You'll also need to build impulse control and the ability to choose you and what you want separately and then together with this training. Below the video link are more tips to help you be successful.



Step 1: Building value for the crate/mat/bed
- use a calm treat delivery
- do not add a cue "go to your bed" right away, you want to simply reward good choices
- do not be stingy with the treats!

Step 2: Build duration
- Start by adding seconds at a time between treats
- Ping-pong the duration around once your dog understands staying on the mat is his job (for example: 1 minute, 30 seconds, 20 minutes, 15 minutes, 2 minutes)

- Reward your dog when she isn't staring at the treats or treat hand. I have posted a video below on why this is important. This video is from Kikopup. She has great tutorials online.


Step 3: Add distractions
- If you taught impulse control, this step goes much easier!
- Do not give the leave it cue. You want the dog to choose the right behavior on her own. If you constantly give cues, you'll have to micromanage your dog using the cues you've taught her.
- Only start this step if the dog values calmly laying on the mat very highly

Step 4: Rewarding the dog offering calm behaviors off the mat or bed
- Use a high rate of reinforcement (give a lot of treats and praise) to the dog.
- Be aware of these moments. So many times, a dog offers calmness and is ignored.


EXTRA TIPS!!!
You'll find that in some situations, your dog will not know how to relax in a certain situation without the bed or mat. That's OK. As long as you continue to reward the dog for calm behaviors, she will build a habit of being calm.

I remember when Pip would just tear things up and run around and bark and look at me so intently that she was vibrating. She was always ready to go and didn't know how to relax.

Believe it or not, your crazy dog doesn't want to be crazy all the time. It's hard on the nervous system and it's hard on the dog.

Here is my earlier post about building Pip's off-switch for more ideas! Pip was an extreme adrenaline junkie, crazy dog when I first adopted her. Now she is quite calm inside the house.

Off Switches: Just Breathe!






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