The Dish by Darcy

There is a trick to giving pills. Here are some things that work every time. Don’t hesitate, give the treats quickly. If your dog gets a second to think you are tricking him, you’ll have to try twice. The faster the dog will take the treats, the more likely they won’t spit the pill back at you! Good luck.

1. Have three really, really tasty treats and a buttered pill in your hand. I like to dip the pill in butter so it slides down easily. Some pills can taste bitter and a little butter makes the pill not so bitter. Any SitStay.com treat will work or steak or hot dog or hamburger. The treats should be small enough for the dog to gulp them down quickly. Bigger treat for bigger dog.

Each treat and the pill should be given quickly. Give first treat, second treat, pill, quickly follow the pill with the last treat and throw your hands up in the air and say, “That was great! You’re the smartest dog in the world!” It works almost every time and your dog will celebrate with you.

2. Put the pill inside some raw or cooked hamburger. Again, piece of burger, piece of burger, burger with pill, then another piece of burger. Celebrate! Dogs love that!

3. Here is the tried and true method but not as much fun. This one is best for dogs who are refusing food because of illness.

I dip the pill in real butter so it goes down without getting stuck.

Dog is sitting down between your legs facing in the same direction you are, you’re over the dog and a little behind him with your feet on each side so he can’t back up to refuse. Lift dog’s head so nose is up in the air (easy, you don’t want to hurt that sweet neck), open dog’s mouth, set the pill as far back in the throat as you can, close dog’s mouth, stroke the throat upwards until the dog swallows.

Say happy things when it’s pill time, before and after giving the pill. “Butch, pill time! Happy Day!!” If you are worried or hesitant to give the pill, your dog will worry and be hesitant, too.

“How do I get my dog to look at me? She walks away when I call her, training is non-existent because I can’t get her to pay attention to me!! Can you help?”

Most dogs are motivated by food, yummy treats are great to get started. But my dog doesn’t like treats! Then use his breakfast and dinner, a bite at a time. Dogs who love food and will work for treats are easy to train. There are some dogs who don’t take treats as easily or at all, those are the dogs we trick into training. “Hey, Buddy, want some breakfast?” Ears go up, eyes on you or the can opener, instant attention.

Hand feed the dog every morsel, every bite, for the next 21 days. If you feed raw or dry kibble, this is easy and will take about 5 minutes for each meal. If you feed canned dog food, offer it with your fingers or a spoon. Yes, you’ll be feeding them canned food as if they were little babies.

You are standing relaxed, a bowl of food beside you on the counter. Take a bite of food into your hand or spoon, gaze at your dog’s eyes. Don’t stare. This is important. Gazing uses a soft eye, like you’d use to look at your lover or your baby. And for Heaven sakes, look happy. This is a happy time and a soft smile will soften your eyes. Practice while looking in the mirror. Frown or stare hard and look at your eyes; they look “hard”. Now smile and relax; instant soft eyes. Practice makes perfect.

You have a bite of food in your hand, touch the end of your nose with your index finger, stay quiet, stay relaxed, no words, keep soft eyes on the dog’s eyes, and then just wait. The dog’s eyes will follow your finger to your nose. Instantly toss the kibble to the floor about three feet away (if using a spoon, let the dog lick the spoon clean each time.) Dog goes to get kibble and comes back to see if you’ll do it again. You will. Again and again. Soon your dog will be looking at your face for the next bite, then at your eyes for the next bite. Attention, just like that. When your dog is looking at your face consistently, start waiting for her to look into your eyes. Then ask for other behavior or let them offer it. Have fun.

Your dog may even start offering you behaviors very soon: sit, down, back up, bark, tilt their heads, shake, one paw up, anything to get you to toss the next bite. At first reward only for the eyes looking toward your face, then for eyes to eyes, then give them a bite for everything they offer you. Sit, bite. Down, bite. Tilt of the head or other very cute thing, bite. After a while, add a word to each behavior as quickly as you can see what is going to happen. Dog is going to sit, say “sit” just as her little butt hits the floor, and give a bite when she it does. Soon you will be training with the experts and your dog will love playing with you.

After you have your dog looking at your eyes, go one more step. With every bite, say the dog’s name. Say it loud, scream it, whisper it, sound crazy, sound like a little kid, sound like an old lady. Your dog will eventually look at you when you say her name, no matter what she is doing. You want her to look at you when you say her name no matter what she is doing. And her name should always have positive rewards: play, food, treats, chews, running, walk, petting, toys, something good. Never say your dog’s name if you are mad at her, you’ll set your trust back 21 days. She has to trust that when you say her name, something good is coming to her. This could save her life one day when she’s started to run into the street, a car is coming, and you have lost your mind screaming “Boopsie, no!” at the top of your lungs. Boopsie will turn and come back to you with a smile on her face.

Nothing should be free in a dog’s world, not food, not even naps. No more free food, no more free treats. Ask for something, and then give it with a smile and a warm voice. Dog is napping; stop to lay your hands on with love. “No, don’t get up, Girl. I was just rewarding you for lying here quietly.”

“I want to teach my dog hand commands for everyday activities. How early can I start? Can I teach my old dog? I’ve seen other people do it and it looks like magic.”

What a great question! The answer is right now! No matter if you just got your dog or puppy or if they are already in your home. Dogs are never too old or too young to learn. Learning keeps our minds busy and happy and it’s the same for our dogs, they love to be busy and learn new things. Experienced dog handlers are really fun to watch. It’s hard to tell if they’re using hand signals, body language, or facial expressions to guide the dog’s actions. When a person and a dog are attentive and they understand each other, it does look like magic as they work. The examples I like best of voiceless signals are in agility competition and dancing with dogs. There’s very little talking and lots of action.

Hand signals are great for every day living, not just for the fancy competition stuff. It’s nice to ask the dog to get in or out of the car, into the kennel or house, back up, lie down, come, leave it, shake your body, shake hands, high five, play dead, and SitStay, without any voice request. I start hand signals the moment the puppy or the rescue dog becomes a member of our family.

I like to use the gesture for “right this way” to signal that I want the dog to go from here to there. (Think of a butler in the movies. “Dinner is served. Right this way, Madam” and the hand waves gently from in front of him to the direction of your dinner, the open palm curving away from their body, they may even do a little bow.) I like to keep my elbow curved for this signal, don’t use a straight arm. A dog who has been abused may not recognize a straight arm as an invitation, a soft loose curving arm is best. A straight arm can look mean and hard. Try it and see the difference I’m talking about.

Whenever you give your dog a voice request, use the hand signal that you want them to learn. When your dog is going outside first thing in the morning, “wait” at the door (international stop sign, full palm facing dog), then “right this way” out the door. Same thing coming back into the house, “wait” at the door, then “right this way” into the house. The SitStay Dogs wait at doors until they are waved through.

Hand signals can and should be added to every trick and every behavior along with the voice request. Add the hand signal you want to use and pretty soon you can stop saying the words and use the hand signal by itself. Add hand signals for simple things, too. Like your dog jumping up on the bed. As she jumps, add the hand signal.

Your dog should start thinking you’re the traffic cop in the house and really that’s just what it is, you’re directing traffic! It’s a fun way to train. Use both hands, either hand can mean the same thing if you practice enough. You’ll be able to use your left or your right to call your dog to you. That will be convenient should you ever break an arm. If you’re consistent in your training, your dog will start automatically doing what you want when you signal. You and your dog will be communing quietly; the world will think that you and your dog are the new magic act on the block.

Dancer is losing her hearing. One good thing about this is that she can’t hear all of the 4th of July celebration anymore. The best thing about it is that we can still communicate with our hands and not have to speak. I know she can’t read lips. I say “Hey, Dance, come here” and she tilts her head with a puzzled expression, “What did you say?” I motion with my hand and she comes to me. Try teaching your dog some American Sign Language (ASL). By the way, clicker training can be used for dogs who are losing their hearing or have already gone deaf. Put the clicker against the skull so they can feel the vibration when it clicks. Make sure your dog understands that goodies or a toy are coming as a reward with every click, don’t need to scare the dickens out of them.

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Watch the Charlie Chaplin Dog dancing for an excellent example of voiceless commands. Four paws up for this performance! Yes, your dog can do it, too.