6. Clear Communication and a Glossary of Cues
Once again, I encourage you to create a glossary of the cues you frequently use with your dog and add definitions for each of them! It truly helps in organizing your sessions and provides a complete set of tools to use when things get tough—like when "wild behavior" is just around the corner 😂.
I remember working with my young Hondzia and discovering the magic of clear, well-defined cues that stand out from a stream of other words. For us, it's the word "yes," which means "you're doing well, keep going." Oh, how I needed that! And how Hondzia needed it too! Hondzia believes nothing should be slow—everything must be done quickly and as close to her human as possible, because she’s the best and has everything that’s best. Well, that’s great, but sometimes we want the dog to perform commands from a distance, or—God forbid!—stay in a position while I breathe 🤪. That cue helped me reward her without breaking the behavior. It allowed me to tell her from a distance that she was doing well, without interrupting the task (for example, tracking the disk from a distance—yes, we use this cue for that). Previously, I thought just saying “good” or “super” would be enough. For many dogs, that works, but not for Hondzia—it just made her wild-eyed, hovering around my feet, waiting for the "good, good, did I do it right?!"
Equally important is clearly signaling the end of the session! The end cue should be distinct from the release command. Here, I’ll refer back to my Bułka, who was very emotionally reactive to the presence of other dogs. Ultimately, I wanted her to participate in sports and compete, so in addition to building her confidence and providing her with socialization opportunities with well-balanced dogs, it was crucial for her to work calmly around other dogs. During training sessions with familiar dogs, we had a rule: she couldn’t approach the other dogs until I said "end," but after the session ended, she could freely interact with them. Thanks to this, when I’d release her with just "okay," she’d get up, take the reward, but remain "with me," not interacting with the other dog. After the "okay, end" cue, she could go greet the dog if she wanted. This way, I didn’t worry she’d run off during the session, and she wasn’t stressed thinking, “I really want to greet that dog, but I can’t.” She could, but only after the word “end.” At first, any unfamiliar dog near her caused nervousness, excessive vocalization (staffy whines...), and frantic eating of her reward. Now, Bułka competes all over Poland, works at seminars, and feels comfortable with it 🙂. It’s also worth considering having a cue for food rewards found in the grass or eaten from a bowl to break the dog’s focus on you for a moment and redirect it to another goal like the food.
7. Rewarding for Not Acting 😉
Often, when teaching various behaviors, we focus primarily on those that are "visible" to the naked eye. We teach the dog to sit, lie down, shake hands, do spins, target with paws, and other tricks that look good in photos and impress people 😉. But how often do we reward the dog for not acting in between these commands?
Let’s say we plan a sequence of behaviors: lie down, sit, shake hands. Of course, after the "lie down" command, the dog gets a treat, but as soon as we take a breath, the dog sits.
Or, after taking the frisbee from the dog, we say "around" (a cue for circling the handler) and throw the disc. After a few repetitions, our ultra-well-behaved Fafik drops the frisbee and starts running around our legs.
The thing is, your Fafik was ultra-well-behaved because you rewarded the actions, the reward was great, so the dog shortened the time to earn it and performed the sequence. With wild dogs, it’s essential to reward what’s hard and unexpected for them.
If we told the dog to lie down, gave a treat, and the dog remained lying without us saying anything... perhaps they deserve another treat?
On the other hand, if we said "drop," the dog dropped the frisbee and stopped, looking into our eyes, perhaps they deserve a "yes" or "okay, catch," and a little tug-of-war with the disc?
Think about your dog’s most frustrating behaviors during training and reconsider your timing of rewards. Are you rewarding what you actually want? For example, did you reward "silence," or the sequence of "bark, the handler will correct me, and then I get a treat"? Unfortunately, it often happens that we give attention to behaviors we don’t like, but when the dog behaves well, it’s just expected, right? 😉
8. Understanding Your Dog's Temperament and Adapting Your Tools
You can teach your dog various behaviors or change their reactions to certain stimuli, but you can’t change their temperament 😉. Your dog came into this world with a specific set of traits, and while these traits might be great for sport, they can be quite inconvenient in daily life situations. If you wanted a cute dog that looks great in photos but doesn’t react to sudden stimuli, a border collie might not have been the best choice… 😅. Working with the dog you have means getting to know them—learning what excites them, what annoys them, when they feel good, and when something is too difficult. Of course, you’ll work on helping them handle more and more challenges, but you won’t do it through constant restrictions and maximum control. Use their temperament—consider engaging in a dog sport that taps into their instincts and teaches you, as a handler, how to manage training, resources, and the environment.
If you want to teach them complex behaviors, like waiting their turn during training or recalling while ignoring environmental distractions, you’ll need to break these tasks into very small steps that help the dog understand that they can handle the situation and don’t need to react impulsively.
9. Building Your Dog's Confidence in Training
The aspect of a dog's confidence in training is often discussed only in relation to dogs who are withdrawn, disengaged, or shy. This is when we, humans, immediately think of a sad dog who is struggling and in need of "boosting." Unfortunately, on the other side of the spectrum are those "naughty," loud, and reactive dogs. In these cases, we often fall into the trap of feeling the need to control their behaviors, reprimand them, prevent nervous reactions, and calm them down.
However, I believe that "naughty" dogs also need work on their self-confidence, alongside learning to manage their nervous reactions! They also need to feel a sense of agency in their training (that's why I love well-chosen and properly introduced behavior offerings, especially with these kinds of dogs!). A confident dog does not have to exhibit wild emotions. Frustration, nervousness, and vocalizations often appear when a dog loses confidence, doesn’t understand the exercise, and feels "lost." Their temperament, however, means that they don't retreat to a corner with a sad face but instead... escalate further.
When introducing exercises with a bed, I use offering (even with "wild" dogs—perhaps especially with them?). I reinforce the dog's feeling that they have figured out the right behavior on their own, while also carefully managing the environment and the training session. I want the dog to feel that the handler recognizes when something is too difficult and doesn't throw them into "the deep end." It’s great when the dog can "show" the human that they’re struggling, and when they feel they’ve figured something out on their own!
Here are a few practical examples:
For nervous dogs during play, who struggle with retrieving or giving up their toys, I introduce a lot of winning the prize and successful play. I also encourage people to analyze the quality of the play so that the dog feels comfortable and at ease in it. Only when play starts to resemble fun, do I introduce working with the toy, thus controlling the "access" to the prize. For example, I begin teaching the dog to release or bring the toy back, which often comes naturally at that point.
With dogs who struggle with catching frisbees or performing commands while working with toys, I first focus on the quality of the play. I clean up the communication during play, check which types of play the dog enjoys the most, whether they prefer a tugging motion, a throw, or a toy on a long lead?
For "task-oriented" dogs, paradoxically, I add tasks to their play. Performing known commands and exercises can boost their confidence and calm their nervousness because they stop "getting bored."
For dogs that challenge their handler with behaviors, vocalizations, and "demand" vocalizations, I introduce exercises focused on calmly lying on a bed. YES! Offering. The dog is not "forced" but instead learns that it pays off and that they can come up with it themselves!
And again, there are many examples of this. I encourage you to reflect on these ideas 🙂
10. Daily Rhythm and Quality Rest!
Again, a bit of a roundabout approach, but I believe this is just as important when working with excitable dogs 😉 If every training, walk, or session involves a lot of emotions, often frustration, and you have a dog that tends to lean in that direction (and if you’re reading this and made it this far, you probably do 😂), you should make sure the dog has proper conditions and time for recovery.
There’s a common belief, based on a casual understanding of dog issues—these dogs need to be tired out! That will make them happy! Of course, they do need exercise, but afterward, we need to ensure they have the opportunity to rest and calm down, activating specific parts of their nervous system. Many nervous, excitable, and "naughty" dogs also struggle with resting in a civil environment, and it’s up to us to help them with that. I think this topic is often discussed to death, but I’ll still throw in a few practical tips.
For example, limiting space and properly introducing the crate as a place for relaxation and rest works well.
Supporting moments when the dog should relax with well-chosen tools, such as chew toys, Kongs, or sniffing mats. This must be tailored to the individual dog, as I know dogs for whom making access to food more challenging (such as having to lick it off a lickmat) can cause even more nervousness, with thoughts like, "Can’t I just eat these last 5 crumbs, you silly idiot?" 😂
Calm walks on a leash with opportunities for sniffing, marking, and exploration.
Massage and manual therapy, which indirectly help achieve muscle relaxation and activate the parasympathetic nervous system. This will also depend on your dog’s preferences and needs. You can opt for a visit to a physiotherapist, try simple techniques based on short instructions (such as the one I created in collaboration with the John Dog brand: link to video), or sign up for a relaxation massage course and learn to massage your dog at home! Currently, you can do this, as Balans.Dog is running an online course sale until the end of November: link to course, and with the code "iwszystkojasne" you get a 10% discount.
Rest and recovery time is incredibly important! Paradoxically, excitable dogs often need longer breaks between training sessions to allow their bodies to recover from what happened on the training field 😉
Thank you so much for your patience in waiting for this post, and congratulations on making it through! In an age when "short forms" rule, you’ve read an eight-page A4 document!!!
This post is also the official launch of the blog!! Today’s post will also go out in both formats, but eventually, I’d like to post the condensed version on Facebook and direct you to the blog for the full version 🙂
On the blog, you’ll also find all the archived posts from the #InDepth series!!
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