10. Handling

10. HANDLING

LEVEL TWO

Dog allows the handler to handle his ears, tail, and feet. This may be done on a table or on the floor. There must be minimal fussing.

DISCUSSION: No matter what else a dog has learned, what amazing behaviours she can perform, a dog that can't be safely handled in everyday life and minor emergencies is nothing more than a wild animal living in your house. Cleaning ears, cleaning teeth, cutting toenails, expressing anal sacs, trimming, brushing, bathing, checking injuries – husbandry requires being able to handle the animal, never mind daily interaction. When people can handle your dog casually and completely without worry about a reaction, your vet will love you, your groomer will love you, you'll save a ton of money on grooming, and a ton of worry that the dog will be lashing out at neighbours. Bear in mind, though, that what we're doing here is training the dog out of MINOR fussing. If your dog is actually trying to bite you or other people, please get help from a competent professional trainer.

EASY BEGINNINGS: Whether or not your dog is good at being handled, treat this as a distinct behaviour that needs to be trained. You may hit a time when he doesn't want you to touch a sore paw or something and you can fall back on your training.

The dog is comfortable with you petting her somewhere on her body (if you can't pet her at all, you need a professional trainer to work with you). Touch her there ten times, clicking and feeding for each touch. Don't touch lightly – you're not trying to tickle her. Most animals will accept a solid touch (not a slap!) better than a tickly touch. Gradually start moving your touch toward her ears. As you get closer to her ears, work a bit on duration of touch. Click for a one-second touch. Click for a two-second touch. Work up to about 10 seconds. When you get to her ears, fondly them gently, but keep clicking. If she likes being fondled, you didn't have a problem, but if she doesn't, you want to keep rewarding her.

Move gradually down her body to her tail. In the beginning, it doesn't matter if she's sitting or standing. Run your hand down her tail, hold her tail, pull (lightly) on her tail. Don't stop clicking, and every click, of course, gets a treat.
Move very slowly down her legs to her paws. Be sure that she's comfortable and eager for the next click before you go further. When you get to her paw, hold it on the ground if she's left it there. Hold it off the ground. Play with her toes and her toenails.

While you're doing all this, pay very close attention to how she feels about it. Don't go three inches down her leg if she isn't totally "in the game" at two inches. You're not trying to see how far you can get today, you're trying to teach your dog to relax and accept the handling. Pay close attention to the duration of your touch as well. Remember that when you change one thing, you have to make everything else easier, so if she's good with you touching her for 10 seconds 3 inches down her leg, when you go for 4 inches, cut your duration down to nothing – just a touch – and build back up to 10 seconds before you move on to 5 inches.

PROBLEM SOLVING:

SHE MOVES AWAY FROM MY TOUCH! Instead of YOU touching HER, try getting HER to touch YOU. Remember the Come Game from Level One? Play it again. This time, put one hand out in front of you so she has to brush against it to get the treat from your other hand. Then tell her that you have to pet her ear for a second before she gets the treat.

SHE JERKS HER FEET! Of course she does, dogs hate having their feet fussed with, especially if they're thinking about toenail cutting while you're doing it. Go further up her leg to where she's NOT jerking, and work slowly back down again. Be sure you aren't pulling on her leg. Think about pushing her leg and foot slightly toward her body rather than pulling them out toward you.

SHE TUCKS HER TAIL UNDER! That's a natural reaction as well. Go back to the base of the tail, or somewhere along her topline where she isn't worried about your touch, and work from there. Or wait until she knows the StandStay and then go back to her tail again. It'll be easier when you can ask her to Stand. If you want to know more about teaching her to Stand so you can bring her tail up, read the article on training the conformation Stack.

ADDING A CUE: I don't really use a cue for this, other than Stay. Dogs DON'T generalize well, but Stay seems to be a cue they easily generalize. Once she understands Stay for the DownStay, the SitStay, and the StandStay, you'll notice that she'll start freezing in whatever position she happens to be when she hears the word.

CONTINUING EDUCATION: Ears: look in her ears, poke around in her ears with your finger, lift her ears up, pull them down, fold them over her eyes ("you can tie 'em in a knot, you can tie 'em in a bow…"), clean them gently with a Q-Tip. Tail: lift it up, pull it down, straight out behind, express her anal sacs (do this in the bathtub, don't say I didn't warn you), hold it at the base, hold it at the tip, wag it for her. Paws: pull them forward, pull them back, pull them out to the side (gently, remember they're not SUPPOSED to go in this direction), wash them with a washcloth, dry them with a towel, scissor the hair out between the pads (blunt scissors if you don't know what you're doing)(and remember you aren't trying to cut the hair, you're trying to train the dog to have the hair cut), and of course, cut the toenails. I can't begin to tell you how much more you'll enjoy your dog if you take some time NOW to teach her to have her toenails cut so you don't have to get in a wrestling match every time they need to be done!

LEVEL THREE

Dog eliminates on cue. Tester should allow no more than two minutes for elimination to begin after the first cue is given. This is an optional behaviour.

DISCUSSION: "Handling", in this context, isn't limited to just hands-on the dog. It also includes other behaviours to make your dog easier to take out into the world, whether as a pet or competition dog. It's a necessary behaviour for service dogs.

And if you CAN'T think of a SINGLE possible use for it, consider this little story: When I lived in the city, a man brought his Mini Poodle to poop on my lawn every single day right after lunch. The dog always stopped in the same part of my lawn, and the man always stood there watching the traffic and pretending it wasn't happening. Then he'd walk off, leaving the poop on my lawn. At first I thought I'd embarrass him by staring at him out my front window. No change. Then I sat on my front step and watched him. No change. Finally, I yelled at him to at least pick it up. No change. Finally, on a day when I had my three Giant Schnauzers and two belonging to friends at my house, I watched him allow his dog to poop on my lawn and walk on. When he was a few houses down the block, I came out of the house with all five Giants on leash. He lived about 8 blocks away, and we followed him all the way home, staying about a quarter of a block back. When he went in his house, we stopped on his lawn and, on cue, ALL FIVE Giant Schnauzers dumped on his lawn, with him watching out the window. When they were done, I smiled and bowed to him, and we went home. I don't know whose lawn that dog pooped on after that, but it wasn't mine.

EASY BEGINNINGS: This isn't a matter of teaching the dog to do anything, it's merely a matter of getting the behaviour on cue. To get a behaviour on cue, wait until the dog is volunteering the behaviour, then tell her what the word is. As if you were saying " By the way, that thing you're doing? It's called 'Twinkies!', OK?" After the dog has "gone", tell her she did a good job and give her a treat BUT don't use the clicker for this! There's a good possibility that with a clicker, she'll learn to stop peeing when she hears the click – whether she's actually finished or not.

When you've used the word WITH the action 50 times, start using it to PREDICT the action, just before it happens. "Guess what? You're going to Twinkies!" When you've done that 50 times, you can start suggesting it as the first action in the going-out sequence. "Hey, Dude, how about if you go out and Twinkie?" Continue to reward the action.
Now you've got some basis for discussion. Next, start putting the leash on the dog to go out. Great, she can pee when you let her out, and it's starting to look like it's on cue. But if she can't do it on leash, it still isn't very useful. Remember, though, when you put the leash on, you've changed something, so start over again from scratch.

BIG HAIRY SECRET! And now here's the big secret to getting elimination on cue. It's called a Limited Hold. Instead of spending hours pacing around outside, waiting for the dog to go, you put the whole thing on a limited hold. When you take her out, she has two minutes to get the job done. That's it. Take her outside to her favourite spot. Try to be inconspicuous, don't be chanting at her or waving your arms or otherwise taking her mind of her business. At the same time, don't let her just crouch in one spot and wish she were in the house again. Show her the potty area, let her sniff, keep her moving very slowly. When she goes, give her a treat, take her in the house, and play with her for a few minutes.

If she doesn't go in the limited time you gave her, say nothing, just bring her in the house and confine her. An hour later (or half an hour, if she's very young), repeat the procedure. NEVER give her more than two minutes. It's a simple enough behaviour – she either goes or she doesn't go, and she'll take as long about it as she knows you'll give her.

PROBLEM SOLVING:

SHE JUST WON'T GO! Sure she will. What else is she going to do? If you start out giving her two minutes and she doesn't go, that means she didn't need to go. An hour later, she might have to go. If she doesn't she didn't need to yet. Keep giving her two minutes every hour until she HAS to go, and then she will. Your job is to explain to her that she only has two minutes in which to relieve herself. Don't under any circumstances tell her that she has ten minutes, or she'll take ten minutes!

CONTINUING EDUCATION: Vary your surfaces. Many dogs get stuck only eliminating on grass, or only on cement. Be sure yours can respond to the cue anywhere. When you want to switch (say, from grass to cement), resolve to NOT return to the original surface until you have your behaviour on cue on the second surface. I once had a training building with a city drain near the outside door. A few weeks of working in the building, then taking the dogs to the drain on the way out resulted in a very strong pee-on-the-grate behaviour that came in handy many times in many locations.

LEVEL FOUR

Dog allows handling of muzzle and teeth by the handler. This may be done on a table or on the floor.

DISCUSSION: Back to hands-on work. Many dogs are fussy about having their faces handled, but for retrieving, tooth cleaning, mouth tricks like balancing a treat on the nose, and grooming, we need to be able to handle them without worrying about their reaction. In an emergency, being able to handle the dog safely can save you a lot of money on anaesthetics, if not the dog's life.

EASY BEGINNINGS: Go back and remind the dog that she enjoys being touched on her body and legs. Click for the touching, get her in the game. Then gradually work up her back, over her shoulders to her neck and up onto her head, clicking as you go. Gradually work your hands over her skull, play with her ears, and onto her muzzle.

Don't work to the teeth until you can hold and restrain the muzzle without any fuss. Once you can restrain the muzzle with your hand, do so, and play with the lips with the fingers of the same hand. By the way, don't restrain the muzzle while the dog's trying to chew the previous treat!

Here's the secret to "showing the show dog teeth". Put the dog in front of you facing to your right. Put the middle finger of your right hand up between the dog's jawbones to support the jaw and keep the head from going up or down or side to side. Click this a lot, get the dog very comfortable with resting her head on your finger.

Now take your left hand. Fold the last three fingers tight into your palm so they won't be covering the dog's eyes. That leaves your left index finger and thumb. These come down on the dog's muzzle, finger on the left side of the nostrils, thumb on the right. Use these two digits to lift the dog's nose (and upper lips) up. At the same time, use the thumb of your right hand to pull the dog's lower lip down. With practise, this is a fast, sweet, easy method of showing the front teeth to someone (a judge, for instance). BUT – but, of course, the dog must be used to it and comfortable with it, and you'll get that from going slowly and clicking relaxation.

Opening the dog's mouth to further handle the teeth, remove contraband, or give a pill can be just as easy when the dog's is used to it. With the dog in the same position, reach over the muzzle with your left hand. Slide your left index finger and thumb into the appropriate sides of the mouth immediately behind the upper canines (long teeth). When the dog slightly releases the pressure holding her mouth shut, you can put your right index finger on her lower incisors (front teeth) and push her jaw down to open her mouth. Again, click a lot. Click for acceptance. Click for relaxation.

PROBLEM SOLVING:

SHE ABSOLUTELY WON'T LET ME TOUCH HER MUZZLE! A problem like this is beyond the scope of a written self-help book – you need professional assistance.

ADDING A CUE: In general, I want the dog to allow me to touch her anywhere, anytime, without a cue. I do take some pains to build in a cue that says "I'm trying to play with you right now, feel free to escape from my hands, play-bite at them, and growl at me". This cue involves my head tilted to once side, boggling my eyes, my hand in a claw threatening to grab the dog's nose or paws, and some kind of threatening statement like "You bad dog, I'm gonna GIT you!" In the ABSENCE of this cue, I expect allowing me to touch her, hold her, and manipulate her to be her default behaviour.

CONTINUING EDUCATION: Having other people able to handle your dog isn't part of Level Four, but it's a necessary part of life. If your dog's already comfortable with you handling her head, take this opportunity to get her used to others doing the same.

LEVEL FIVE

Dog stays on a pause table for 30 seconds with the handler 10’ away. Appropriate cues.

DISCUSSION: A giveaway – a behaviour your dog can already do. This is the Go To Mat moved to a low table. Remember to make the time and distance easier as you get the dog comfortable going to the table.

LEVEL SIX

Dog stays on a grooming table for 30 seconds, handler 10’ away. Appropriate cues.

DISCUSSION: A high table now, up from the lower one of the previous Level. This behaviour ensures that your dog won't be injured jumping off a grooming or examining table when you were reaching for a brush or stethoscope.

LEVEL SEVEN

Dog lies down on its side on a grooming table while the handler puts a nail clipper over one of the dog’s toenails. Appropriate cues and minimal fuss allowed.

DISCUSSION: This is the professional behaviour you see at dog shows. The dog can lie down herself, or you can put her down on her side. She must then stay in that position while you start to cut her nails. For conformation dogs, this position allows them to be prepared for a show – which sometimes takes hours of grooming – and get up relaxed, refreshed, and ready to work. If you've done all your grooming up to now with the dog on the floor, I can only suggest you give this a try. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to work with a dog at table height! I've saved a lot of money, too, on semi-surgical procedures that would only require a local anaesthetic if the dog would lie down and stay still.