Choosing decoy dogs to help with fear, reactivity, aggression and puppy socialization
This video goes over some tips for choosing specific dogs to use as decoys for training set ups as well as dogs to use when the dog actually meets the other dog in a training set up or socialization of shy dog or puppy.
Another great video on this topic is ”Tips for introducing dogs” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbR0YXaMyvM
The protocol:
https://dogmantics.com/protocol-for-emotional-and-behavioral-modification/
Happy training!
-Emily Larlham AKA Kikopup
Hello everyone this video is on tips for Choosing helper dogs when working with Dogs on issues such as fear reactivity Aggression or over-arousal towards other Dogs as well as preventing these things From happening with puppies now if you Are training your own dog and you’re Watching this video i suggest that you Get help from a professional trainer That doesn’t use any forms of physical Or psychological intimidation to help You with this training and they can set Up training plans and hopefully they Have Access to some dogs that you can help Your dog with rather than relying on Friends and family Also if you or the trainer is going to Be doing these exercises it’s a great Idea to work on these exercises where The dogs don’t actually meet that’s Going to create the most successful Training to take the steps slow in the Footage you will see that my dogs are Meeting other dogs very quickly and that Is because i have assessed the situation And i know that it’s the it’s an Appropriate time where they can meet The safest choice if you’re not sure how Your dog that you’re helping is going to React is choosing a calm ignoring dog What i mean by that is a dog that’s calm Friendly but they’re not wanting to Interact with the other dog or they’ve
Been trained to ignore the other dog so A dog that can move calmly and Predictably i’m suggesting a Medium-sized adult dog that’s going to Stand up slowly lay down slowly and and Be able to just walk and sniff and you Could introduce these dogs at a distance Or with just the dog laying down some Dogs do better when the dog is moving Slowly through the environment minding Their own business rather than still and Laying down facing the other way it Really depends on the dog what makes Them more comfortable and more worried Or more excited so you need to figure That out But that’s the safest choice sometimes You can you can see from the dog’s Behavior as a trainer and you can skip To using different other dogs first like I’m going to show in a minute But if you want to go in order of safety You can start at a distance with a calm Dog and then move on Down the line or use multiple com dogs Of different shapes and sizes Before moving on to to other categories At the end of this video i’m going to Include my protocol for working with Dogs as decoys and you’ll see splash Working as one of those calm ignoring Dogs The next category of dog is inviting Social dogs dogs that are going to
Invite the other dog to feel safe to Interact with them now there are Different personalities that suit Different situations But This inviting social dog might not be The first step for a dog that’s scared Of dogs or Showing aggression towards dogs because It’s hard for um The first step would be that that dog Feels comfortable being ignored by Another dog if they can see that dog has An intention or interest in them In my opinion i think that that can be Harder for a lot of dogs so i would First suggest getting a dog if your dog Is fearful reactive or showing signs of Aggression towards other dogs I would first work with a dog that Ignores or someone who’s feeding the dog But sometimes dogs are really smart so They can see that The other dog has intentions of moving Towards them and wanting to glance over So Get help from a trainer but in terms of An inviting social dog i actually have Two of them and i love using them with Small puppies large breed puppies to Help them learn how to interact with Little dogs my little terrier poodle Shitsu mix cloud is actually one of These dogs he’s calm gentle and inviting
So he’s great at building the first Foundations of a positive experience With interacting with another dog Another wonderful thing and i’m going to Show you footage of this in a second is Using a dog like cloud to build a dog That’s scared of human beings or worried About approaching them to build their Interest and motivation to want to Interact with human beings Here’s some footage of an extremely Sweet recently adopted dog named eddie Who’s learning to trust human beings His housemate sally is one of those Inviting friendly dogs and you can see That by me interacting with the Housemates and completely ignoring him Besides tossing him some food is Building his interest in wanting to Interact and wanting to have a treat You can see he’s feeling conflicted Because he’s leaving his back legs Behind he also needed to build Confidence with putting a leash on and Going outside so i thought i would bring Cloud my little terrier to give him an Interest in wanting to leave the house On a leash and interact also by having An interest and positive experience as Soon as he walked out the door he was Less likely to be thinking about the Leash that was attached to him and we Were able to get him into a harness for The first time
You can really see a change in his Behavior and he’s holding his tail Higher After sniffing around on the front lawn We were even able to go on a first walk Together i believe having the two dogs There for support on his first walk made It a positive experience to build on Epic my little five-pound chihuahua is Also one of these inviting friendly dogs However even though she’s gentle she can Be fast and do erratic movement that can Either scare a dog at first or arouse Them so if she was working with a puppy And she starts running around crazy In circles and trying to invite them to Chase her she can actually Do the opposite and get those puppies Interested in playing with her like a Toy especially because she also doesn’t Think to correct other dogs so she’s a Great dog for an extremely shy puppy Because you know that if the puppy were To you know Make that move to interact that she’s Not gonna growl or snap at them even as An adult and that puppy’s gonna have a Great first experience Thank you so much for watching if you’d Like to support my work don’t forget to Like comment and subscribe to my channel You can also become a supporting member Of channel kikopup by clicking the join Button see you later
This video is on the protocol for Raising criteria in training setups for Emotional and behavioral modification It’s important to check out the complete Protocol for emotional and behavioral Modification in the description below Because there are many steps before you Even get to training setups with your Dog for example your dog might not take Treats went out of the house or your dog Might be overexcited by treats or your Dog doesn’t know the specific behaviors That are going to benefit the dog in These training setups so check that out First and then move on to learning about How to raise criteria in training setups These are the seven steps of the Protocol for emotional and behavioral Modification step one investigate health And stress step two create a prevention Plan step three condition reinforcers And markers step four train and proof Behaviors Step five teach the concept of a setup Step six separating triggers in training Setups step seven Training during real life step six of The protocol for emotional and Behavioral modification which is Separating triggers and training setups Is comprised of three steps Step one analyze what the dog is Reacting to and plan all the different Ways you can split the triggers apart to
Work on one aspect at a time work on the Easiest ones before the harder ones Step two add them together Systematically one at a time with the Easiest ones first step three very Training for generalization What will be covered in this video is Knowing when to increase criteria and Add triggers together systematically as Well as when it’s time to reduce Criteria when it’s too hard for the Learner Why do training setups training when out And about on walks can work for some Dogs but for others it can be too Unpredictable causing the dog to have Setbacks and the training to not be as Effective with setups there is less room For errors it’s easier to measure Progress easier to pinpoint triggers That need work and less stressful for The dog and handler Choose a location with as few Distractions as possible to begin with When your dog has mastered setups in Non-distracting environments you can Practice in busier environments but Reduce criteria and expectations when You begin Here is the three-step protocol that I’ll go over step-by-step with examples The reason that i created this protocol Is for those struggling to know when to Raise or lower criteria in training
Sessions and struggle to read their Dog’s body language and with this Protocol The dog tells you in a very obvious way When to raise and lower criteria Step one Look In this step you’re going to mark the Dog for looking at the decoy and feed The dog for looking back at you if this Is the first time the dog’s ever played This game you’re going to mark the Millisecond that the dog looks at the Decoy you want to mark within two Seconds of the dog seeing whatever it is Because if you wait too long what can Happen is the dog might get over excited Or react to whatever it is that they’re Looking at after marking you’re going to Feed the dog for looking back at you Either feeding the dog to the mouth or Putting the treat down on the ground you Can also move further away from the Decoy to put the food down on the ground By getting your dog to look away from The decoy it not only gives your dog a Short break to calm down but it’s also a Way to represent the trigger without Having to leave and come back or have The trigger leave and come back Sometimes when a dog is just watching Something happen it’s almost as though They’re watching an action movie and Eating popcorn and it’s hard to tell if
The popcorn or dog treats are creating a Conditioned emotional response in the Dog or are simply just a snack to the Dog Step two look and look back After repeating step one multiple times Where you mark the dog for looking at The decoy now you’re going to test the Learning and see if the dog has made the Connection between the trigger and the Reinforcement so wait no longer than Four seconds and see if your dog will Think to look back at you for the Reinforcement This is different from step one because Instead of marking as the dog looks we Are waiting for the dog to look back at Us to mark and reinforce I suggest feeding the dog while they’re Still looking back at you so they can Enjoy their reinforcement and when They’re done with the treat the trigger Is represented Step three no need to look at all Repeat step one and two with the same Setup that’s extremely predictable to The dog until the dog doesn’t need to Look at the trigger at all and ignores The trigger offering the handler Attention or other behaviors in order to Gain reinforcement such as heel work or Sitting or downing or giving eye contact Or that the dog settles and ignores the Trigger
Or that the dog can explore the Environment with the handler say for Example sniffing trees and walking on a Loose leash to explore bushes and the Smells in the grass If you skip this step and you’re not an Expert at reading your dog’s body Language and behavior it’s hard to know If the dog is ready for the added Criteria and you might inadvertently Teach your dog to have to look at Whatever it is in the environment Constantly instead of learn to ignore it Like wind in the trees where the dog Doesn’t need to get excited about it or Worry about it By getting to the point where the dog Can ignore the trigger completely and Doesn’t have to keep looking over every Few seconds that tells you that your dog Is ready to move on to the next step of Adding criteria systematically If the dog achieves step three add Criteria systematically and return to Step one if not reduce criteria and Return to step one What to do if things go wrong now we Should plan to have no errors in our Training session but errors happen so if The criteria is raised too quickly use a Cue that has been previously trained With positive reinforcement to interrupt The dog and then you can either end the Session or reduce criteria
Avoid the intentional use of punishment With this method as it can cause the dog To start to hide his warning signs which Makes it hard to read the dog in order To raise and lower criteria and can Inadvertently create a negative Emotional response in association with The trigger If at any point in the steps the dog Cannot look back after the marker cannot Look down for a treat suddenly becomes Fixated or reacts to the trigger use the Previously trained cue let’s go and move In the opposite direction until your dog Is comfortable then lower criteria and Begin at step one if the dog stops Taking food or looks overly stressed end The session and create a new plan In this training setup you can see the Dog isn’t looking back after the marker And continues to look at the decoy This means the criteria is too hard for The dog there are many ways to reduce Criteria one could be to do the exercise Somewhere else but the other could be to Reduce variation in the man’s movement If the training continued what could Happen is that the dog could feel Comfortable at times but then be on edge Again if the man did something Unexpected In this next setup the decoy was told to Repeat the same movements and even Though he’s doing a quite fast squat
Movement you can see by the dog’s body Language that the dog is way more Relaxed and can easily look away from Him when he’s walking around And when he squats the dog can quickly Look away from him for the reinforcement Adding criteria Begin with slow predictable movement or Stationary positions increase movement And unpredictability as the learner Succeeds begin with the easiest decoys Possible such as people or dogs the dog Already trusts and has a relationship With When raising or adding criteria in Training setups for emotional and Behavioral modification it’s exactly the Same as adding criteria for a behavior When training such as a down stay so for Example if you were training your dog to Stay in the down position there are many Aspects that go into that such as how Long the dog can stay in the position How far away you can be from the dog in That position and can they stay in that Position with lots of different Variables so instead of trying to work On all of those things at the same time You’re going to make it easier for the Dog by working on one criterion at a Time so you’re teaching your dog to stay In a down stay for duration when there’s No distractions and you’re close to your Dog so it’s easy for your dog and then
When you start working on distractions You’re not also going to see if your dog Can stay in the downstate as long as he Can ever stay so when adding criterions You make sure to drastically reduce Everything else so if something gets Harder everything else gets easier so If you’re planning on walking away from Your dog and working on your distance From the dog you’re not also going to Have distractions then when you’ve Worked on the different aspects you add Them all together systematically so You’re not going to add distance Distraction and duration all at the same Time you might work on one in the other And then um work on an average ratio so You’re not constantly making things Harder and harder for the dog by asking For two minutes and three minutes then Four minutes as like a circus comes to Town and gets more and more rowdy you Might work on the distraction The distractions while the dog is in the Down stay get more intense while the Amount of time the dog stays in the Downstate varies and then the Distractions get less intense and then The dog is also Not getting as long duration in the down Stay so it doesn’t just keep getting Harder and harder for the dog so think About this downstay example when Planning training setups with your dog
How can you work on one piece of the Puzzle at a time one aspect that the dog Is reacting to at a time Say for example you have a dog that is Fine Or okay when dogs are at a distance Being calm but when they’re close up and Doing something very active Then the dog Can overreact in that situation so how You might begin is work on making it the Easiest scenario possible where your dog Is at a distance they’re comfortable From the other dog and the other dog is Not moving or doing something very Casual sometimes dogs don’t like it when Other dogs are really still but if they Were walking around facing the other way Sniffing the grass maybe that would be Less They would be more comfortable with that Specific Situation so you begin there and then What you could do is work on the Proximity how close you are to that dog When they’re being calm and then when You work on the dog doing more active Behaviors then you would have the dog as Far away as possible and then add the Two together so you could have the dog Doing back flips even or fetching a ball Or you could work your way up to really Excitable behaviors like barking and Playing tug with the owner while your
Dog is far enough away and then Gradually add the two together i often Get asked but isn’t this going to slow Down the training process by breaking The steps up small and working on one at A time it seems like it’s going to take Forever and the answer is no actually If a dog is By by the dog being able to tell you What they’re ready for In one training session you could skip Right on to meeting the other dog or uh You know drastically increasing criteria Because the dog’s saying yes that’s easy Yes that’s easy and then you can Continue on with the harder tasks and With the dog that’s saying no that’s not The wonderful thing about breaking the Aspects up or the triggers up and Separating them and looking at them Separately is sometimes you find Triggers that you didn’t know the dog Had so for example with one dog it was The jingling collar that really made Them react So simply by jingling a dog’s collar With no dog around the dog reacted so The owner could just work on jingling a Collar for two weeks in the house before There was even a dog in the picture and Then when the dog was in the picture We had an elastic band around the dog’s Tags so i suggest actually with any dog That you begin with the tags silenced
When working with another dog and then Work on the jingle of the dog and the Noises dogs make separately if those you Think might be part of the reason that Your dog reacts to other dogs Before working on the dog’s triggers Teach the concept of the setup Teach the concept of the setup without The dog’s triggers present by using a Decoy that your dog likes and trusts for Example a family member or friend Make sure the dog recognizes them at First so he doesn’t get startled by them Do setups where you rehearse the Movements you’ll do in the training Sessions with the real triggers until The dog has gotten to the point where he Can quickly progress through the three Steps of the protocol for raising Criteria You can use this as a quick warm-up Before a real setup with a decoy it’s a Great test to see if the dog is ready For the training as the dog might be Uninterested in the food or distracted Before the trigger is even present The reason that it’s a good idea to Teach the dog the concept of the setup Is that your dog won’t be learning Something new while also being exposed To the trigger also the handler can Practice all the different skills and Behaviors they need to do during a real Setup
What i usually do is work with my Client’s dog if he trusts me and teach The dog the concept of the setup using The client as the decoy most dogs will Want to look at their own owner and find It hard to look back at first so the Client can watch the learning process Before there is a trigger present you Will find there are a lot of triggers That you can work on with your dog Before you need to use a strange dog or Person as a decoy most dogs will Struggle with looking away from just Their own owner running back and forth The key to this training is creating Predictability so to begin with i like To work with a very predictable movement So a movement that repeats every few Seconds or limiting the movement to a Specific area that’s only about ten feet Wide Going from step three to step one when Something new is added In this footage you can see that gummy Bear is on step three where she can Easily ignore splash laying down at a Distance from her however because we’ve Not worked on splash getting up after Laying down for a long period of time The moment that splash stands up is when The handler is going to mark gummy bear For looking over at splash and mark Every time that gummy bear looks over Its flash now that she’s walking back
And forth because we’ve never worked on Splash walking back and forth at this Distance from gumby bear before After marking gummy bear for looking Over at splash multiple times joanna is Then gonna wait and see if gummy bear Will think to look back at her and she Does Yep If you have a dog that’s had extensive Training with offering behavior and the Dog starts to look and look back at you As a behavior i suggest waiting and Seeing if you can get your dog to look At you with duration so you don’t get That head movement of back and forth Looking at you and looking at whatever It is in the environment If this is hard for your dog i suggest Going back to working on a saddle or Duration eye contact when there’s no Trigger around first Your dog might invent his own way of Telling you he’s ready for the next step Here gummy bear lifts up her chin as if To say this is easy other dogs might go Into a sit position or a down or any Sort of behavior you might have Reinforced Decoy dog tips a big trigger for a lot Of dogs is when another dog’s face is Pointing in their direction so you can Use your body to block the view of the Decoy dog’s face at first
If you’re really worried that the decoy Dog might look over you can use healing Or luring with a treat on the dog’s nose And use value treats and a high rate of Reinforcement to prevent the decoy dog From looking over at the working dog You can use one of your hands as a Blocker as i’m doing here especially When the dogs are in close proximity to Block the view of the decoy dog’s eyes From the working dog you can also hold On to the harness and the collar when Your hand is in that position just in Case the decoy dog decides to look over At the working dog and that’s going to Create a setback for the working dog When the working dog is ready to see the Decoy dog’s face you can have them at a 90 degree angle i like to walk backwards Slowly and get my dog to look up at me When the working dog is having success And you want to raise criteria and add Movement of the working dog i suggest Having the decoy dog extremely still or Doing extremely predictable behavior Sit Down Sit Twirl If the working dog alerts to the sound Of the decoy dog handler’s cues such as The handler telling the dog the dog is a Good boy or saying something like sit or Let’s go or marking and reinforcing what
You can do is first have the handler Have no dog and work on all those Different cues that are going to be used Such as sit down spin let’s go marking And reinforcing an invisible dog first Until the working dog can calm down and Be comfortable with that scenario first Before bringing the dog into the picture Then when the decoy dog is first brought Into the picture you can use the visual Cues and luring rather than verbal cues A very useful behavior is teaching the Decoy dog to look at the working dog on Cue I suggest treating being looked at as a Trigger for any dog and work on it in Your training sessions In most situations unexpected movement Is easier for dogs to handle when it’s Further away from them than when it’s Close up so work on the trigger of Movement at a distance first Here’s an example of keeping notes of Your training sessions you can write Down the date time of day location the Session duration the triggers that were Presented Times criteria had to be lowered and why Other possible contributing factors and A category for notes Creating a table like this of all your Different training sessions can really Help you plan the next training session I suggest getting help from a
Professional dog trainer who doesn’t use Any sorts of physical or psychological Intimidation to help you with this Training especially trainers who have Access to lots of calm and friendly dogs To use as decoy dogs or if your dog has Issues with human beings you can use the Trainer to gather decoy humans to help You with this training This video was only on the protocol and Not on safety but you can see i’m using A fence but you can also use muzzles With this exercise