And how it actually made him more crazy. . .
Now, I want to tell you guys a story about one of my personal dogs.
To this day, he's probably my most solid, most obedient dog. He's the one that's pretty enough to catch attention from everyone on the street, and well mannered enough to get compliments from almost all of them.
But he didn't used to be that way.
In fact.... he's the only dog of mine that I had ever considered rehoming....
Those moments of thought were brief, and made me feel extraordinarily guilty. But they existed.
Let me tell you why.
See, he was insane. Legitimately insane.
I didn't have him from a young pup like I have with my other two. He was someone else's dog for the first 8-10 months of his life.
One day, his owner at the time (a nice older woman, whose daughter had gotten him and then went off to college without him), posted him in a Facebook group. She needed to find him a new home.
He was too energetic. Too crazy. Needed training. He was.. too much for her.
I don't blame her for making that choice for him. In fact, I'm grateful, because without her choosing to let him go, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to learn so much from him.
She lived in a duplex... he was a 10 month old, working bred Australian Shepherd (for anyone who needs clarification on that, it means that his parents were working dogs, and less mellow than a "pet bred" version of his breed).
A few weeks after he dislocated her shoulder... from taking off after a bird while she was hanging onto his leash, is when she decided she couldn't be what she needed to be for him.
So, here I was, looking at his picture in a Facebook classifieds group. Wondering how crazy it was that just a few weeks earlier I had said "my next dog will be an Australian Shepherd"
I'm going to really get into it now. Since that unimportant backstory is now out of the way.
My dog... my new 10 month old dog was absolutely insane.
So insane... that he NEVER settled down. He was always up, pacing in circles, panting, with his tongue hanging out of his mouth. It looked like he was fixated on something... chasing some imaginary bird that none of us could ever see.
He always had this look in his eyes that made me think he looked completely nuts.
To top it off, he actually was awful on the leash, chasing after everything that moved. Pulling so hard that he actually caused damage to his throat.
He CHEWED A HOLE THROUGH MY WALL. For what?
And then we noticed.... it was a quick flash of light from a cellphone screen.
This entire time. He was chasing lights. And shadows. It got so bad that he would literally stare at the ceiling for hours after the sun fell and a single shadow crossed in front of the lamp and plastered itself up there.
He was OBSESSED with lights and shadows.
So, a few weeks after bringing him home, I contacted his previous owner. I had heard of dogs being neurotic, but I had never seen anything like this. He was driving himself mad.
That's when I found out where it came from.
"He needed exercise" she said. "So I used a laser pointer and let him chase it along the fence in the yard all the time".
Now, remember she is an older woman, who had the best intentions. But she couldn't walk him without hurting herself. She didn't have the energy to keep up with him. She didn't ever ask to be burdened with a dog that was too much for her.
I've always been a pretty active person, and spring was on its way.
Piece of cake, I thought. I'll hit the hiking trails with him and wear him out. We'll play fetch for hours every day.
He'll be too tired, and that will fix him. He'll become better. He won't have the energy to chase and drool and pant over the shadows or light reflections on my walls.
Boy, was I wrong. I worked that dog until he was zonked out cold. We went out every single day.
I have never been so exhausted trying to burn energy on a dog before in my life.
But a 20 minute nap later and he was back to the panting and the pacing and the constant searching for the lights and shadows.
The dog never. freaking. stopped.
A few months had passed and he was MORE nuts... not less. I had literally exercised him so much he could go for hours. He DID go for hours.
He was like an energizer bunny except the batteries never ran out, and there was no off button.
That's when I started to question myself.
Was I being selfish for keeping him? Did he need MORE?
How could a dog possibly even get more? How would anyone have the time?
See, this was in the very early formation of my career in dog training. I was still serving at a sushi joint part time back then.
I didn't have any idea how to work with this. It was, as I know now, considered a pretty significant behavioral problem.
But why, with all the exercise he was getting, all the "mental stimulation", was he getting WORSE?
It didn't make any positive difference in him, aside from the fact that he'd nap for a little window of time before popping back up again.
That's when I gave up. Not on him.
I gave up on the exercise. I was tired. It wasn't working. Despite the fact that a few dozen people on the internet, and almost as many how to articles told me that was the answer.
So I gave up on it.
And do you know what happened?
He CALMED DOWN.
I stopped "stimulating" his brain and body 24/7..... and HIS BRAIN STARTED TO REST.
I started interrupting the chasing, the panting, the drooling.
I taught him how to lay down in one spot doing NOTHING.
I stopped walking him, and instead, started taking him to the park just to SIT. To sit in one spot and just BE there.
And it didn't happen overnight... but it worked.
Somehow... it worked.
Now that I know what I know about how to change the way a dog thinks, and how to modify behavior patterns, it makes sense that it worked. Of course it worked.
But I didn't know that then. I wish there had been ONE... just one article on the internet that told me to STOP before I got so deep into the "Dogs who misbehave only need more exercise" myth.
And let me tell you, it is a HUGE myth.
See, what really happens when we constantly have a dog "on" and occupied and stimulated and going and going... is that their brains go into overdrive. Their brains get almost stuck in this constant cycle of adrenaline. Their brains learn so well how to be constantly on, that they never figure out how to turn them off.
Imagine living a life where you were CONSTANTLY feeling like you were 3 coffees in, every day, all day, for your entire life. Without ever having a chance to just stop, to take it all in, to relax, to have peace and quiet in your brain.
The thought alone makes me cringey honestly.
Now my dog is older, and my most trusted dog.
The dog who can literally let life fly by him.
He's still got his wild spirit. He'll still scream at a lurecourse event (because he wants that lure so badly!).
He will still jump in the water after a ball, hike with me, run with me, and do all sorts of other active things with me.
But now, now he can nap with me too. He can go weeks without "formal" exercise.
And he just naps. And that's the way it has been, since he was about 18 months old.
Thankfully, my current 18 month old pup, who is just as drivey and energetic (if not more), also has that skill.
Because with him I could do it better. I could teach him how to regulate himself, and how to think critically, and how to chill out when the situation called for it.
So to all of you guys... take only two things from this story, if you take nothing else.
1. Exercise will NOT fix your dogs behavior.
2. A laser light may just make them legitimately crazy.
Don't fall for either of them as solutions.
Is there a difference between a dog who comes when called... and an off leash trained dog?
Absofreakinglutely.
Most people are comfortable and okay with the first one of those two... having a dog who will come back to you when you call... instead of chasing off every smell and pretending like you're invisible... is fantastic.
But what's is the difference between a dog who will come back... and a dog who is actually "off leash trained"?
See...
A dog who is off leash trained is on a whole other level.
It's the sort of thing that takes a lot more time... but the end result is much more rewarding.
It's the dog who can be without a leash.
Without a collar even.
AND who can CHOOSE willingly to walk past distractions with you, to stay near you, to come check on you.... and to choose those things ON THEIR OWN.
Without you having to command it of them every time.
A dog who will come when called is a dog who might come back to you after it takes off to go see another dog.
An off leash trained dog is the one who will see another dog, and choose to keep going on their way WITH YOU.
An off leash trained dog is the kind of dog you can have an almost human like conversation with, to tell them whether you want them to hang behind you. To stop. To wait. To go run, or chase that lizard.
The kind of dog who is always cocking an ear back to make sure you're still there.
Who is periodically glancing back toward you... to make sure there is nothing you need of them.
That's the kind of thing that makes you look at your dog and wonder just how you got so lucky... to be connected with another being so closely that you are able to work together so well.
That you can lay your trust in an animal so fully. That's where the magic happens.
I can help you teach your dog to come when called.
But what I REALLY want to do.... is to help you have an off leash trained dog.
A reward is a reward is a reward...
When you think of a reward, in regards to training a dog, what is the first thing that pops into your head?
Food?
Maybe a tennis ball?
A game of tug?
Maybe your mind went where I'm already going with this and you thought of something more complicated.
The fact remains, that reward reinforces a behavior. It increases the likelihood of seeing a behavior happen again, and again, and again.
So why does your dog only listen sometimes, even though they've gotten treats, pets, and toys what seems like a thousand times for doing the "right" thing?
Your dog is the dog who will listen like a dream... if you have a treat in your hand.
But how do you help them behave reliably without having to carry a cookie in your pocket for the rest of your life?
That answer partially lies in how exactly you are taking advantage of reward opportunities.
1.When your dog is jumping up, whining, maybe even barking because you've just got home from work.
2. When your dog is pulling on the leash to go sniff the tree in your neighbors yard.
3. When your dog is attacking the vacuum.
What does your dog want *in the moment* of each of these?
1. Your dog wants your attention. They want to be close to you. YOU are the reward.
2. Your dog wants to examine and study that tree. The sniffing is the reward.
3. Your dog likely wants the vacuum to stop moving, to stop making that awfully scary sound. The reward is exactly that. The vacuum once again becoming motionless and "dead".
Rewards increase the likelihood of a behavior being repeated, good or bad.
Use the smelly grass spot at the park as a reward, use your attention, movement, and eye contact. Use your guests as a reward.
Having the leash put on, being let out of the kennel, being let out the doorway, into or out of the car, being allowed to approach and sniff something, their daily meals, something scary going away.
Rewards are endless. The most powerful one is the one your dog wants in a single moment.
Be conscious of the behavior and energy your dog is giving off when receiving a reward. Those behaviors and that energy is what will be reinforced in the future. #rewardwhatmatters