That trick? Eye contact.

One of the most common complaints I hear is that a dog just doesn’t pay attention to his owners.

But why would he? Think about how much your dog ignores you (and other human voices and behaviors) every day, at your desire. He ignores you talking to your spouse, your kids, on the phone, to yourself. He ignores the TV and radio. He ignores the heating system, kitchen sink running, dishwasher, washer/dryer, shower. He ignores you walking around the house, preparing food, helping the kids with homework, doing housework. And we want him to ignore all these things, because if he were to pay attention and go on alert every time one occurred, we would never get a break from reassuring him all was well!

But then, in the tiny percentage of time that you want your dog’s attention, you expect him to know that, this time, this voice, this sound, this word, is directed at him. Maybe you call his name. But how many times do our dogs hear their names throughout the day? Maybe you talk to them as you get ready, but don’t expect a response. Maybe you’re telling a spouse about their antics. Maybe you’re explaining to a friend that you have to feed the dog. Or maybe you are saying his name to him, but it’s to tell him to stop doing something, or ignore something, or that he’s doing wrong. With all of those mixed messages, how can your dog know that this time, when you call his name, you want his attention?

Then take your dog outside, into a world of distractions, and you and your voice, which he has learned to ignore through long exposure, are the last thing on his mind.

To many, this seems like a helpless prospect. But it’s not.

One simple step you can take to improve your bond with your dog and help him stay attuned to you is to teach him that looking at you is rewarding.

Not when you call. Not when you get down to his level. Not when you jerk on the leash.

All the time. Any time. When nothing’s going on. When a squirrel runs by. When a new person approaches. When he’s out on a walk. Teach him that voluntarily checking in with you is a rewarding behavior!

This is really very simple. Carry your clicker (or have a vocal reward marker, like “Yes!,” to tell the dog when he does the right thing) and treats. And sometimes, start clicking for eye contact. Don’t make a sound. Don’t give a hint. Don’t try to pull his nose up to you with a treat. Just stand there (or sit there, or lie there), and wait. And when your dog looks your way, preferably when she makes eye contact, click and give a treat.

You can do this randomly throughout the day, but it helps to occaisionally have sessions of just rewarding a dog for eye contact, over and over. Many people notice that when they teach their dog to sit, their dog starts coming up to them and sitting all the time! The dog has learned that sitting is rewarding, and now will offer it on her own to see if it pays off. The same can happen with eye contact if you teach that it is a rewarding behavior by having sessions of clicking and treating it.

Start, like with any trick, in a non-distracting environment. Maybe your living room, where nothing that exciting goes on. Get your dog, go in the room, and wait. When she looks at you, click and treat. It’s that simple! As she gets better at it, and starts to stare at you, take a treat in your hand and hold it off to the side. Now your dog has to stop staring at the treat and look at you to get rewarded. It’s an easy-to-introduce distraction. Try changing other things. Turn sideways. Change position between sitting, standing, kneeling, or whatever else you can think of. Vary the distance between you and your dog. Once they’re a champ in your living room, try other locations. Remember, start easy. Go in your yard and practice before you head to the dog park and expect your dog to stare lovingly into your eyes!

As your dog gets the idea, you can stop the training sessions if you want, but keep randomly rewarding eye contact. This will give you a dog who is far more likely to check-in on his own, even when on a walk or at a park, because he knows that looking to you is rewarding. It also helps to strengthen the bond between you and your dog, because he has learned to stay aware of where you are and look to you for guidance. Obviously, there will always be times we want our dogs ignoring us. But if they learn to offer eye contact on their own, they learn that while they may ignore many of your actions and words, they shouldn’t ignore you.

However, finding a good trainer can be tricky. There is no national certification for trainers, so anyone can call herself a trainer, even with no experience. Additionally, many trainers still rely on outdated dominance techniques, which were disproven decades ago and can be damaging to dogs physically and mentally. So with all of the options out there, how do you find a good trainer?

• Observe a class. A credible trainer will usually not mind you watching one session. Watch the trainer’s teaching style. Watch how the dogs are reacting. Watch how the people are reacting. Can you see progress during the class? Do you understand the trainer’s explanations? Does everyone seem happy but focused?
• You should never feel uncomfortable! This is the number one rule in finding a trainer. If at any point while you are observing you feel uncomfortable with how a dog is being treated, or what an owner is being asked to do, or even just a gut feeling you can’t identify a reason for, go elsewhere. (If you do enroll in a class and are ever uncomfortable with what a trainer is asking you to do, politely decline. You are ultimately responsible for the safety and happiness of your dog, not them!) Dogs can be successfully trained to any level using positive training techniques, and there is no need for you to do something you are not comfortable doing. Find a trainer who agrees.
• Look for keywords. Words like “positive” and “clicker” are good keywords, that indicate the trainer will use dog-friendly (and human-friendly) methods of training. Words like “dominance,” “pack” and “alpha” are red flags that the trainer will be using outdated methods which may cause long-term damage to your dog.
• Ask for a guarantee. Ask if the trainer provides a guarantee that their training will be successful. The correct answer is no! Dogs are individuals with personalities, and like anyone they have good days and bad days. They are not black boxes. There is no way anyone can guarantee the lifetime response of any animal. Trainers who say they can are only showing how little they understand about animals.
• Request references. A good trainer should have happy clients who are willing to share their experience with you. Some trainers will have pages of testimonials, others will provide you with contact information of references upon request. If you are given phone numbers, use them! You can learn a lot about a trainer by how their previous clients view them, and this gives you a chance to ask an unbiased third party about questions important to you.

Finding a good trainer can seem overwhelming, but it is worth it! When you find a good trainer, you will be amazed at the change in your relationship with your dog, and your life together will become much more enjoyable.

And perhaps, what people think of the least, it can affect your dog’s behavior.

So how do you find a good dog food? Here are some tips:

• Find a local natural or holistic petstore and ask them for help. Major chains require large-scale production to supply them. At that level of production, it is difficult to keep quality up, and often pet food makers begin to cut corners with respect to quality.
• Avoid foods with byproducts in them. Proponents of byproducts say that they are organ meat, like liver and hearts. In reality, quality pet food makers who include organ meat will list out the specific organs included. For example, “chicken liver” will be listed as an ingredient, rather than “chicken byproducts.” The requirements for meat to be listed as byproducts are very loose, and typically the “meat” included is diseased or cancerous. Proponents will also tell you that “byproducts” are not legally allowed to include things like beaks, feathers, and feet, but in reality the regulation says that such parts must be minimized to a level that is reasonable in a production factory. This is, obviously, a very open requirement which allows for a lot of those parts to be included.
• If possible, find a grain-free food. Dogs are carnivores. Unlike herbivores, who have long intestinal tracks, dogs have very short intestinal tracks. Humans are omnivores, and our food spends approximately 10% of its time in our stomach and 90% of its time in our intestines. It is in our intestines that the more complex grains are broken down into useable parts. In a dog’s digestive system, food spends approximately 90% of its time in their stomach (where the acid is 4x stronger than in our stomachs) and only 10% in their intestines. This means that they are not set up to use grains in any beneficial way. Studies have repeatedly shown that there is no minimum requirement of carbohydrates in a dog’s diet, because they do not need carbs. Thus, grains are nothing but empty fillers. They get turned into either fat or waste by your dog’s body. Why are they added to food? Because they are cheaper than meat. When you feed a grain-free food, you can feed less of the food, since there isn’t as much useless filler, and your dog poops less for the same reason! It also helps keep them from gaining weight, since there are fewer empty calories for their body to deal with.
• Feed multiple protein sources. No one protein source is perfect. Just like we shouldn’t eat only one type of meat, our dogs shouldn’t, either. Allergies are really sensitivities. If your dog eats no meat but chicken, they are likely to develop a sensitivity to it. This is why so many dogs now-a-days are allergic to chicken, rice, and lamb: for generations they have been fed a diet based on that, and they are now overly sensitive to it. By rotating protein sources, such as between lamb, beef, chicken, venison, rabbit, etc., or feeding a food which includes multiple protein source, (or both!), you help to ensure your dog has a balanced diet and doesn’t develop allergies.
• Remember to find a pet food maker you can trust. There is a lot that can be done to lower the quality of food that is not visible on the bag. For example, anything added before the final processing does not have to be listed. If a producer gets chicken from China, and the provider of the chicken fills it with chemicals, none of those chemicals have to be listed as ingredients. The only ingredient listed would be “chicken.” Another way you can be misled is by the guaranteed analysis. The analysis lists the amount of protein in the food (for example). However, it does not mean that all of that protein is digestible. They could include shoe leather and count the protein inherent in that, but your dog would not be able to absorb any of that protein. Thus, a high protein content does not necessarily mean that your dog will get a lot of protein from the food.

A healthier dog food costs more per pound than a low-quality food. However, not only can you feed less of it per day (since there is less filler), you will save yourself a lot of money in vet bills over the years. I was amazed recently how, when I changed my dog from Wellness (a relatively high-quality food with grain) to a half-and-half diet of Wellness and Acana (a very high-quality grain-free food), there was a great improvement in his health. His teeth had begun to have quite the build up of plaque, but within a few weeks of switching his food it completely disappeared. Since I was better nourishing his body, it was able to fight off the plaque with no intervention from me. His coat became smoother and shiner. And he started to have more energy to run and play outside, but still be able to settle down just fine in the house.

If you’re going to bring a dog into your life and take responsibility for them, you are also taking responsibility for their health. And the single best thing you can do for their health is to feed them a high-quality food.

And feeding a high-quality food not only keeps them feeling physically good, it helps them have better focus and self-control, which leads to a dog who is easier to train and better behaved!

For a good basic comparison and analysis of various types of dog food check out: http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/

Myth #1: I will always have to carry a clicker with me.

Not true! A clicker is used to teach new behaviors. Once your dog knows a behavior, you know longer use the clicker for it. So, for example, if you are introducing your dog to the “sit” cue, you would do so in a training session with the clicker in hand. Every time he sits, you would click, and then feed him a treat. Once he understands that he should sit to get the click, he will start sitting regularly. When he is doing this you can say “sit” as he sits down, and then feed the treat. After more repetitions, you can say “sit” and expect him to sit in response. You no longer need the clicker!

Myth #2: I will always have to have treats with me.

Nope! If you train your dog using clicker training (or any positive-training technique) you teach your dog that doing what you ask is fun. By having many repetitions of hearing a cue, doing what you ask, and getting a reward, your dog’s brain makes the connection that hearing the cue and responding is a great thing to do. Once he’s made this connection, you no longer need to feed him for every repetition. You can instead substitute real-life rewards (throwing his ball, petting him, letting him outside, giving him dinner) or have no reward at all, and your dog will still listen happily! With some dogs, you can even ask for an easy cue a reward for a harder cue they are learning – they enjoy obeying so much they consider it a reward!

I like to periodically feed my dog a treat for obeying, even after he knows a cue well. I don’t care how much you love your job, the occaisional “bonus” in recognition for your hard work will make you work harder, and the same goes for your dog. Remember, sitting or staying may seem easy to us, but in many situation it is work for your dog.

Myth #3: My dog will only do what I say if he knows I have a treat.

Not if you follow this very simple rule: Never show your dog a treat until after he has done what you ask. Dogs are smart – if they only get a treat when they see it in your hand as you ask for a behavior, they’re not going to do a behavior when they see no treat because they know none is coming! So do not set up this habit; never hold a treat while asking for a behavior. The beautiful thing about using the clicker is that you do not have to “bribe” your dog by showing him the treat. When you are in a training session you have your clicker, and the dog is working for the click. He cannot see a treat before he works. Once you have clicked you have told him what he did was correct. He already knows he did the right behavior, so you have a few seconds to reach into your pocket, or on the counter, or into the bag to grab a treat and give it to him. The treat does not have to come instantly, so it doesn’t have to be in your hand, bribing him to work. As your training sessions for a cue no longer use the clicker (as he has figured out the game/cue) you don’t have to reward every time. Your dog has not been seeing the treat before working, he has never known what he was going to get, or even if he would get anything, and he will still work because it has paid off in the past and it is fun!

For some behaviors you may show your dog the treat to lure him into position when you first introduce the behavior (for example, putting a treat in front of the dog’s nose and lowering it to the ground so that he lays down). If you start a behavior using luring, fade the lure (treat) as quickly as possible, preferably within a half-dozen repetitions. Dogs are creatures of habit, so if you do several repetitions with a treat in your hand, and then move your hand in the exact same way with no treat, he will probably still follow it! At that point you can stop showing him the treat until after he has completed his work.

Myth #4: Clicker training is too complicated.

Clicker training is no more complicated than any other method of training, and as with any method of training there is a learning curve for you and your dog. The difference between the learning curve in positive training and compulsory training is that when you make mistakes learning how to train positively, the worst that happens is your dog gets an extra treat. When you make mistakes learning how to train with compulsory techniques, you can permanently damage your dog, physically or psychologically, and destroy the bond you have with her.

The idea behind clicker training is very simple: When the dog does what you want, he hears a click and knows the behavior was right. Then he gets a treat. What can feel complicated is learning how to “juggle” a leash, treats, and a clicker, possibly while giving hand signals. To simplify, work at home in a small space off-leash, put the clicker on a wrist-band so you can drop it but keep it near at hand, and keep treats on a nearby table or in a treat pouch (a small pouch typically worn on the hip). The other thing that can feel complicated is that your timing has to be good. If your dog sits, and then looks to the right, and then yawns, and then hears a click, he’s going to assume the yawn was the right behavior. With a little practice, however, almost everyone can learn to catch the correct behavior. And if you make mistakes, like I said above, your dog just gets a few extra treats and will happily forgive you!

Myth #5: Clicker training takes too long.

Not once you and your dog know how to do it. Clicker training is really teaching your dog how to think. You’re not just physically moving them into a sit, you’re making them figure out what they have to do to earn that click. Until they learn how to think this way, it can take longer to teach a new cue than if you did just physically force them into position. Once they have learned how to think that way, however, you can add new cues like lightening! The other day I put a step stool in front of my dog, intending to teach him to step up on it with two paws. He had done a similar behavior over a year ago for a few repetitions, but it was never reinforced again, so it was practically brand new. Within four clicks he had the right behavior.

Click 1: Nosing the stool

Click 2: Pawing the stool

Click 3: Putting weight on the paw on the stool

Click 4: Putting both front feet on the stool

The whole process took under 30 seconds, and then he was doing the behavior reliably. He has been clicker trained for under a year, but he has the process down.

Here is a video clip of a trainer teaching her dog to pick up a ball and put it in a basket using a clicker. This was the first time the trainer had ever introduced this behavior or any similar one to her dog.

Since her dog knew how to think with the clicker, she learned the new fairly complex behavior in approximately a minute. With more repetitions the trainer could then name the behavior, and have a highly reliable cue!

Also, since clicker training really makes your dog think, it is great mental exercise for him. You may take your dog on long runs every day, but if he never gets any mental exercise he can still have excess energy to burn since his mind hasn’t been worked. Many people find that a good training session tires their dog out as much as a good walk, and a tired dog is a happy dog (and one who isn’t getting into trouble)!

In short, clicker training can be a great way to train many dogs. The clicker is a training tool which helps you communicate with your dog effectively. Once you and your dog learn how to use the clicker together, you’ll both have a blast learning new cues at the speed of light!

Virtually any animal can be clicker trained; horses, cats, and chickens are some o f the more common subjects.

Recently I came across this post by Mary, the host of the Clicker Carnival, at her blog Stale Cheerios, in which she describes clicker training her goldfish! Watch this video she put up showing her progress.

If a goldfish can be clicker trained, your dog can be clicker trained!

• Visit the home of the breeder. Meet the parents of the puppies, or the mother at a minimum. The parents should live with the family in the home as pets, and should appear friendly, well-socialized, and healthy. Remember, behavioral tendencies can be inherited, if mom is skittish there is a good chance her puppies will be, too! The puppies should be in a clean, safe environment within the home, and if they are 5-6 weeks or older they should be out in the hustle and bustle of family life so they can get used to it. Too much isolation can lead to a fearful adult. Looking at pictures of the home is not enough – puppy mills can take pictures of homes and put them online – this does not mean the puppies are actually raised there! If you cannot visit the home, have someone you trust do so for you. If that is not possible it is safest to look elsewhere. Be sure you meet in the home, meeting in a “neutral location” is often code that you are dealing with a puppy mill.
• Make sure they only breed one type of dog, or two at most. Every breed has their own potential health problems, and a breeder should be well-versed in them. By focusing on one breed the breeder ensures that they are fully prepared for all of the potential issues that could come from breeding these dogs.
• Ask what health and genealogical tests have been done on the parents. The breeder should have given both parents full medical exams before the breeding, and should have checked that no congenital problems were present in either parent. They should also have looked back at least three generations in the parents’ history to ensure that there is not a history of congenital problems and that the parents are not closely related.
• The breeder should ask you questions about yourself. A responsible breeder will want to know where his puppies are going, that they will be cared for, and that you are ready for everything that goes along with the specific breed. They should also be available for contact with questions even after the puppy is home.
• Ensure they will take back any puppy at any point in her life if her family cannot keep her. This is one of the most important criteria to me. Even if you cannot foresee any condition in which you would need to give up your puppy, such situations can happen, if not to you, then to other owners. If every breeder took responsibility for every puppy they bred for their full lifetime, there would be no need for shelters.

There is nothing wrong with wanting a puppy, as long as you make sure that puppy is coming from a place that is good for dogs and good for their people! A puppy from a responsible breeder will be healthier, happier, and less likely to present behavioral problems, saving you money and heartbreak as you spend the next 10-20 years with your newest family member. When you are looking for a puppy, be sure the breeder you find meets all of the criteria listed above, and you’ll be off to a great start!

Shelters take in animals who no longer have homes, either because their people brought them in or because they were found wandering the streets, and houses them in a group facility. Many dogs at shelters are purebreds, and there are many lovable mutts. Most shelter dogs are adults,which leads many people to not want them because they are afraid of the possible bad habits the dog already has. Often, however, there will be less training involved in retraining a shelter dog in the few areas he needs it than in training a new puppy in everything. Shelters can be a great place to get a dog if you are open to some unknowns and want to do good for an animal in need.

Rescues are organizations which take in certain dogs who meet their criteria (for example, a certain breed, close to being euthanized but with a good personality) and hold them until homes can be found. The dogs are often held in foster homes, living with a family until a home can be found. This usually means you will have more detailed information about a dog from a rescue than you would from a shelter. A great place to find shelter or rescue dogs in your area is Petfinder, and online directory of animals available for adoption across the country.

Pet stores carry very young puppies, often puppies who are too young to have left their mother. All of the puppies sold in pet stores come from puppy mills or irresponsible breeders. A responsible breeder will never give their puppy to a pet store. Because price is the bottom line, it is rare that genetic or health tests are done on the parents of the puppies, and the puppies are usually very under socialized before arriving at the store, which means that there is a high likelihood that pet store puppies will have health or behavioral problems – or both! Pet stores will lie about where their puppies come from. Buying puppies from a pet store is in all ways a bad idea; the puppies typically cost more than they would from a responsible breeder, have not had health tests done on their parents (a guarantee is offered after the fact in case genetic problems show up, but they do nothing to try to prevent the problems, gambling that by the time they do show up you’ll be too attached to the puppy to return it), are poorly socialized, had poor early care, are highly likely to show health problems leading to high vet bills, and buying from pet stores supports the horrific organizations known as puppy mills.

Puppy mills are disgusting organizations in which dogs are kept in tiny cages, deprived of human contact, and often do not have their basic requirements of food, water and cleanliness taken care of. In mills dogs are mass bred like livestock. Often such organizations will say their dogs are fine, because they follow USDA standards. However, USDA standards only require dogs to be kept in a cage with enough room that they can turn in a circle. They do not ever have to be let out of that cage in their entire life. When adults get to old to breed, puppies do not look enough like they should (i.e. a “designer” mix which looks too much like a purebred), or puppies get too old to sell, they are killed. Dogs from puppy mills rarely receive vet care, and so suffer from conditions like having their teeth and jaws rot away, urine burns where the dog is so caked in urine the ammonia actually burns the skin, legs and feet which are broken or torn off in wire cages, hernias which can reach the size of grapefruits, sores between the pads of the feet from standing on wire, all of which are typically left untreated.

Breeders come in two kinds, responsible breeders and what are known as back yard breeders. Back yard breeders are casual breeders who breed without the knowledge or care required to do so responsibly. Often they just breed a litter or two for fun, have puppies accident, or breed their dogs to make money. They typically are not well versed in what is involved taking care of a pregnant mother, how to deal with problems in the birth, the early stimulation and socialization the young puppies need, and as with puppy mills the parents are not screened for health problems and the proper pre-natal care is not given. Puppies from a back yard breeder will be more socialized than from a puppy mill, but otherwise they are very similar in their likelihood of health issues and behavioral issues. It is back yard breeders and puppy mills who have led to the extreme overpopulation in our nation’s shelters, largely because they do not take responsibility for their puppies once they are sold.

Responsible breeders care for their dogs. They do health checks, give their mothers prenatal care, know what to do in the emergencies that can surround whelping, and know how to care for and stimulate their young puppies. They take responsibility for all the puppies the sell, and ensure that the puppies go to good homes.

If you are looking for a puppy or dog, finding a shelter, rescue, or responsible breeder is not only best for the dogs, it is best for you. You will end up with a healthier, happier dog who will live a long, full life with you. Check back for more information on how to find a responsible breeder, and how to make sure you’re not inadvertently buying from a puppy mill.

Targeting typically refers to nose targeting, or teaching a dog to touch her nose to a target. The target can be a hand, something held,like a plastic lid, a target stick (an example of which is shown below), or a flat or standing object set up at a distance.

The Clik Stik, a retractable target stick with built-in clicker

(Note: I have received no incentive or reward for sharing the above training product)

Teaching a dog to nose target can have a plethora of possible applications:

• An alternative recall: Targeting is a really fun, easy cue for your dog to perform. If for any reason you have a recall (come) that is not very strong, or you only have an emergency recall that you don’t use outside of emergencies or situations in which you are prepared to highly reward your dog for returning, or your dog is just not responding well to your typical recall at that moment, targeting can be another cue which has the same effect. If you ask your dog to target your hand (which you always have with you!) your dog will come running over to you, exactly the same as he would with a recall. Even if you do have a good recall, it can never hurt to have an alternate cue. Your dog may decide she likes targeting better than “come”-ing, so you might as well take advantage of that!
• Teaching new tricks: You can teach many new tricks or cues by luring your dog, or moving food in front of his nose so he follows it into the correct behavior. While this can be quite effective, when dogs have food right in front of their nose they tend to not be thinking about much else! They will follow the food into the correct behavior, but they aren’t all that aware of what their body is doing. Eventually they will figure out what behavior is earning them the food, but this process can go much faster if instead of following food, the dog follows a target. By following a target much more of their brain power is available to think about what they are doing, and they will realize what is earning them the treat faster. This can also be helpful if you need some extra reach in teaching a cue, or you don’t want to bend over, because you can use a target stick to have your dog follow something farther away than your hand.
• Working at a distance: If you need to send your dog away from you, for example, to send him through over a series of jumps, or to tell him to go to his bed, you can do this by sending him to a target. Sending to a target is often used for training dog sports like agility and flyball.
• Bolstering a shy dog’s confidence: Shy dogs are often fearful of hands coming over or around their faces or bodies. By teaching a shy dog to target a flat hand, a hand coming toward her is no longer scary, because it is associated with a fun, easy game where she got lots of treats! This can not only help your dog feel happier, it can prevent bites that come from a scared dog snapping at a hand coming at her.
• Positioning your dog: Sometimes we are out with our dogs in crowded spaces, and we need them to move out of the way. Rather than pulling our dogs where we need them to go with the leash, which often results in them planting their feet and bracing anyway, we can ask them to target our hand and have them easily and happily shift position. There are many other times you may want to position your dog: to get him into heel position, to set him in place for a photograph, or to help him get unstuck or untangled, for example.

These are just some of the possible applications of targeting. It is a very versatile cue, and while you may not see a useful application when you first teach it, chances are you will come across a time you are glad your dog knows it. Worst case scenario, even if you never use targeting in any practical application, it is never bad to teach your dog another trick and exercise her mind!

Then there are dogs who have bitten in the past in response to certain triggers. When working to counter condition your dog (teach her that the trigger is not stressful and thus no longer causes her to feel the need to bite) you may want her to wear a muzzle so that if you miss a warning sign she’s giving you no one is injured. This is especially important if you need to enlist the help of other people in counter-conditioning your dog. For example, if your dog will bite when her paws are handled, you will need to teach her to accept not only you handling her paws, but other people. While you may be willing to risk a bite, you don’t want to assume that your helpers will, as well.

In situations such as these, a muzzle can be a good tool. Read that again, because it is important. A muzzle is a tool. It is not a solution to a dog’s biting, it is a tool you can use while teaching her to not feel the need to bite, or that you can use in a short term situation when your dog is in pain and is likely to not have good control of herself. If you are working with a biting dog, it can help ensure everyone involved is safe. However, while this article is only about training your dog to accept a muzzle, recognize that it is only a useful tool either in short-term situations or when paired with appropriate training for the underlying biting behavior.

So you’ve decided that you want to teach your dog to accept a muzzle, either because you see an immediate need, or just for the possibility of needing it in the future. How do you ensure that your dog not only doesn’t find a muzzle stressful, but that he actually enjoys wearing it? I’ll go through the whole process, but be sure to break up your training in to 5 or 10 minute sessions, so the training stays fun and stress-free!

Introduce the muzzle to him slowly, and let him choose how quickly he will put it on. Get out the muzzle, and a bag of tasty treats. Now offer your dog a treat so that he has to stick his nose towards the muzzle to get it. Don’t go too quickly! How close your dog has to put his nose will be determined by his comfort level. Remember, the goal of this training is that your dog does not find the muzzle stressful. If you push him too quickly, even with food around, the muzzle will be associated with stress in his mind. Once your dog is eagerly looking to the muzzle, waiting for the next treat to appear, move the treat so it is a little further into the muzzle. Now your dog will have to put his nose either closer to or farther into the muzzle to get the treat (depending where you started). This may cause a little hesitation, but it shouldn’t cause him to balk. Ideally, your dog will be so happy with the game you’re playing that he won’t mind moving his nose an extra half-inch into the muzzle at all! If he balks or seems to get stressed, make the game easier. Put the treat back to where it was, or even further away, for a few repetitions, until he is having fun again. Slowly increase how far into the muzzle your dog has to put his nose to get the food.

If you move slowly enough, you should get to the point where your dog is happily jamming his nose all the way into the muzzle to get the offered treat. Once you hit this point, stop showing him the treat. Hold out the muzzle and see what he does. If he makes a move to put his nose in it at all, say “Yes!” in a happy tone, and offer him the treat inside the muzzle again. This way you are teaching him that you’re playing the same game, but that the muzzle itself is a cue to put his nose in and get rewarded, not the treat. This will allow you to muzzle him even if you don’t have any treats on you in an emergency. Repeat this game until you can offer the muzzle, and he will eagerly stick his nose all the way inside and wait for his treat.

At this point you can start to fasten the muzzle. Up until now you have simply been holding it out and letting him put his nose in, but if you were to let go it would either fall off or be easily pawed off. You are just going to add to the rules of the same game you have been playing all along that your dog loves. Offer the muzzle and let him eagerly stick his nose in, but don’t treat him yet. Instead reach out, grab the straps, fasten them, and give the treat. As soon as he takes the treat unfasten the strap and take off the muzzle. Once the muzzle is off ignore your dog for a few seconds, and repeat the procedure. Note: If you are using a cloth or mesh muzzle which holds your dog’s mouth closed, he may not be able to take a treat, or even lick some baby food off a spoon. If that is the case, put on the muzzle, and give him a different reward. Pet him, cuddle him, give praise, run with him (see the safety note below), do something that your dog loves that doesn’t involve opening his mouth. Once the muzzle is off ignore him for a few seconds, as above. This teaches your dog that having the muzzle fastened means that the good things are coming. Once it comes off life is not bad, but it’s a lot less exciting and fun! At first you may not be able to fasten the muzzle all the way. That’s fine. Remember: the goal is to keep your dog happy! If at any time his tail tucks or he acts upset, slow down and go back a few steps. This should be an enjoyable process! If he starts to get unhappy when you go to fasten the muzzle, start by just reaching out and touching the strap while his nose is in the muzzle and then rewarding him, slowly building up to fastening it. There is no step too small to take in your progress!

As your dog accepts the muzzle being fastened, leave it on for longer and longer periods of time. Keep the rule that while it is on, good things are happening, once it comes off, all the good things stop. No congratulating your dog for doing so well after you take it off! That will teach her that the muzzle coming off is desirable, and she will not like having it on. Instead, congratulate her while it is on. That’s the hard part, after all! Slowly build up the amount of time your dog will happily wear the muzzle, always taking it off before she gets stressed. Once she is happily wearing it for more time than you would need to work on desensitizing her to her trigger (having her paws handled in the above example) you can start counter-conditioning her trigger safely, with her muzzle on and adding no stress. If you’re training it for a rainy day, build up until she will happily wear it for at least 10 minutes. Remember to practice with the muzzle occasionally so your skills stay sharp, though once she likes it the rewards can go down in value and frequency.

Congratulations, you now have a dog who gets excited when he sees the muzzle come out, and can’t wait to get his nose into it! Whether you need it right now, or might in the future, you can add one more check to your list of mastered skills.

Safety Note
Never leave a dog unsupervised wearing a cloth or mesh muzzle which holds their mouth shut. Also never leave it on for longer than about 20 minutes, especially in warm weather. While wearing a cloth or mesh muzzle a dog cannot pant or drink, which can be dangerous for long periods of time, especially in warm weather. This is the main reason I typically prefer a basket muzzle of either wire or plastic, which completely encases your dog’s mouth but does not hold it shut. Another reason is that with a cloth or mesh muzzle while a dog cannot bite, he can pinch since there is typically some give in it. This can still be painful!