Greetings Gromit and Chewie Style
Patricia McConnell says that teaching dogs to behave when someone rings the doorbell is a cinch and she loves to show people how to do it. Patricia McConnell has written several great books on Dog Training and I thoroughly enjoyed a few of them. I added a link to her website on the sidebar. I tried her technique but have found that managing two untrained dogs is difficult for me. Her technique really revolves around shaping the desire to run to a specific place and stay there whenever the doorbell rings. What the heck, why not give it a go - so I commenced the greeting behavior training.
I forgot a few of the cardinal rules in dog training - like have a list of all the behaviors in between square one and the end goal. Then set up a clear plan for what you are shaping for in each session. Ahem...I just followed the "don't try this one while Kristin is sleeping" rule. In fact she wasn't even home during these sessions and I am not so sure I ever told her about them.
Anyway, Gromit knew how to go to his bed from foundations class. The fact that I had not worked on this skill for over a year didn't seem to matter in my mind. I put his blanket in the kitchen, which in our house is in the back, away from the front door. Then I went to the front door and knocked on the door to imitate someone coming to the door. The dogs started barking like mad and I acted very happy and excited and dashed into the kitchen and threw handfuls of treats on their beds. The boys came running with me -- what a fabulous game I thought. Except, I don't know if my pounding head can stand to play it more than once each day. Still I labored on and as the dogs finished their treats I knocked again - barking ensued, I was ever gleeful and went running to the back of the house and threw a couple of handful of treats on the dog blankets.
Well, that was great, I could get them to their blankets while they were barking. Now what?
So I have more work to do, what good trainer doesn't but I have to say I have officially trained the dogs to bark and run like crazy to the kitchen if the someone knocks on the door. I am very sure our neighbors greatly appreciate this amazing feat of dog training - skittering, clicking paws on wood floor and howling demanding instructions to me from Chewie, and Gromit just over stimulated.
In all honesty, I have given my dogs very mixed messages about the door. I have worked with Gromit more in the last year on manners when greeting guests - it isn't much fun for him but he has to sit and stop barking, those are the rules and then he can get up and greet the person. I can't train two dogs at once and as is often the case with Chewie, he goes about life with fewer rules than Gromit. Don't despair, Gromit gets great treats during all of his training. And the fact is Chewie doesn't need the structure to behave - he is pretty much just precisely a good boy!
I love seeing the dogs at the back door when I arrive home. I love when they talk to each other and nibble on each other's ears when I walk in the door, just because they are excited to see me. I like it when they sniff me and tell me what they know about where I have been. I like to scratch their ears and tell them hello. I like it when they are dead asleep and I pull into the garage and get all the way to unlocking the door before I hear them move and then they bark and I can see them come running to greet me. I am sure there is something very misguided in my pleasure. I will keep working on it. Who knows maybe someday some dog trainer will train me on the joys of shaping well behaved dogs - but I fear if it means I have to be a well behaved woman we may have trouble in dodge.
I forgot a few of the cardinal rules in dog training - like have a list of all the behaviors in between square one and the end goal. Then set up a clear plan for what you are shaping for in each session. Ahem...I just followed the "don't try this one while Kristin is sleeping" rule. In fact she wasn't even home during these sessions and I am not so sure I ever told her about them.
Anyway, Gromit knew how to go to his bed from foundations class. The fact that I had not worked on this skill for over a year didn't seem to matter in my mind. I put his blanket in the kitchen, which in our house is in the back, away from the front door. Then I went to the front door and knocked on the door to imitate someone coming to the door. The dogs started barking like mad and I acted very happy and excited and dashed into the kitchen and threw handfuls of treats on their beds. The boys came running with me -- what a fabulous game I thought. Except, I don't know if my pounding head can stand to play it more than once each day. Still I labored on and as the dogs finished their treats I knocked again - barking ensued, I was ever gleeful and went running to the back of the house and threw a couple of handful of treats on the dog blankets.
Well, that was great, I could get them to their blankets while they were barking. Now what?
So I have more work to do, what good trainer doesn't but I have to say I have officially trained the dogs to bark and run like crazy to the kitchen if the someone knocks on the door. I am very sure our neighbors greatly appreciate this amazing feat of dog training - skittering, clicking paws on wood floor and howling demanding instructions to me from Chewie, and Gromit just over stimulated.
In all honesty, I have given my dogs very mixed messages about the door. I have worked with Gromit more in the last year on manners when greeting guests - it isn't much fun for him but he has to sit and stop barking, those are the rules and then he can get up and greet the person. I can't train two dogs at once and as is often the case with Chewie, he goes about life with fewer rules than Gromit. Don't despair, Gromit gets great treats during all of his training. And the fact is Chewie doesn't need the structure to behave - he is pretty much just precisely a good boy!
I love seeing the dogs at the back door when I arrive home. I love when they talk to each other and nibble on each other's ears when I walk in the door, just because they are excited to see me. I like it when they sniff me and tell me what they know about where I have been. I like to scratch their ears and tell them hello. I like it when they are dead asleep and I pull into the garage and get all the way to unlocking the door before I hear them move and then they bark and I can see them come running to greet me. I am sure there is something very misguided in my pleasure. I will keep working on it. Who knows maybe someday some dog trainer will train me on the joys of shaping well behaved dogs - but I fear if it means I have to be a well behaved woman we may have trouble in dodge.
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