Provisional Apprentice (18-20 years) PPG Membership & Credentialing Guide

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Membership Information and

Credential Submission Guidelines Provisional Apprentice (18-20 years)

Published June 2018

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Introduction Welcome to the Pet Professional Guild’s Junior Membership Information and the Pet Professional Accreditation Board’s Junior Credentialing Program.

The Pet Professional Guild (PPG) is a membership organization representing pet industry professionals who are committed to results-based, science-based, force-free training and pet care.

Our adult membership represents veterinarians, veterinarian technicians, behavior consultants, trainers, dog walkers, pet sitters and groomers. PPG represents training and behavior professionals across many species.

We are very aware that the next generation of pet professionals is at a point in their lives where we can help them to understand and implement those methods and ethics that will see the continuation of the force-free movement.

To this end we are opening membership to children (8-12 years), teenagers (13-17 years) and young adults (18-20 years) as a way of helping them to learn and understand about pet care and give them an insight into the possibility of working with animals, in a force-free, fear-free way in the future. This Guide is for the 18-20 year age group.

Through the Pet Professional Accreditation Board (PPAB), a credentialing organisation that credentials force-free pet professionals, we are also offering the opportunity for our junior members to gain preliminary credentials in force-free animal care.

The PPAB program is independent of any industry trade school, college or credentialing body.

Applicants are not required to be members of the Pet Professional Guild, but they must meet and maintain all the eligibility criteria (see the PPAB website for more details https://www.credentialingboard.com).

This Guide has been created to help junior members to prepare for the Pet Professional Accreditation Board’s Provisional Apprentice (18-20) assessments. It also serves as a syllabus to assist our junior members to work towards provisional credentials. We aim to help junior members to understand the breadth and depth of knowledge they will be expected to possess, fundamentals they should be familiar with, skills they need to be competent in and scenarios they must be able to address to successfully pass these provisional credential assessments.

Welcome to the wonderful world of force-free pet care.

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Table of Contents Membership Information ................................................................................................................................... 1 and ....................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Credential Submission Guidelines ...................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................ 2 Eligibility for Membership – Provisional Apprentice 18-20 years of age .......................................................... 5 Pet Professional Guild Apprentice Pledge ......................................................................................................... 5 Membership Fee.............................................................................................................................................. 6 Benefits of Membership ..................................................................................................................................... 6 General Membership Benefits ........................................................................................................................ 6 Category Benefits ............................................................................................................................................ 6 Annual Training Deed Challenge ........................................................................................................................ 7 Annual Training Deed Challenge for Provisional Apprentice (18-20 years) .................................................... 7 Eligibility for Credentialing ................................................................................................................................. 8 Provisional Apprentice (18-20 years) Credential Gatekeepers ....................................................................... 8 The Assessment Process ................................................................................................................................. 9 Section I: Knowledge Base Assessment ............................................................................................................ 9 For Provisional Apprentice Candidates .............................................................................................................. 9 For Provisional Junior Basic Candidates............................................................................................................. 9 For Provisional Junior Advanced Candidates ................................................................................................... 10 Knowledge Base Assessment Information Provisional Apprentice ................................................................ 10 Operant Conditioning ........................................................................................................................................ 10 Respondent Conditioning .................................................................................................................................. 13 Conditioned Emotional Response ..................................................................................................................... 14 Habituation ........................................................................................................................................................ 15 Sensitization ...................................................................................................................................................... 15 Matching Law .................................................................................................................................................... 15 Chaining ............................................................................................................................................................. 16 Shaping by Successive Approximations ............................................................................................................. 17 Canine Vital Signs .............................................................................................................................................. 20 Canine Developmental Stages ........................................................................................................................... 20 Canine Senses .................................................................................................................................................... 20 Suggested Reading/Viewing List for Provisional Apprentice .......................................................................... 20 Section II: Film Clips – Basic Training Skills ..................................................................................................... 21

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4 Requirements for All Basic Training Skills Video ............................................................................................. 21 Submission Format for All Videos .................................................................................................................... 21 Skills Requirements for Provisional Apprentice Candidates ........................................................................... 21 Requirements for CER Film Clip ........................................................................................................................ 24 How to Train the Basic Skills............................................................................................................................. 25 Condition the Bridge...................................................................................................................................... 25 Sit ................................................................................................................................................................... 26 Gotcha & go, Gotcha & go home – collar grabs ........................................................................................ 26 Condition your dog’s name ....................................................................................................................... 27 Gaining your dog’s attention with ‘look’ ................................................................................................... 27 Go to place – mat training ......................................................................................................................... 28 Lie Down/Drop .......................................................................................................................................... 29 Loose Leash Walking ..................................................................................................................................... 31 Stand .............................................................................................................................................................. 32 Recall ............................................................................................................................................................. 34 Stay/Wait ....................................................................................................................................................... 35 Wait to be fed ................................................................................................................................................ 36 Wait at entrance – door/gate etiquette ........................................................................................................ 37 Handling and massage ................................................................................................................................... 38 Emergency stop ............................................................................................................................................. 39 Leave It .......................................................................................................................................................... 39 Being alone ................................................................................................................................................ 40 Tricks.............................................................................................................................................................. 41 Section One Checklist: Knowledge Base Assessment Quiz ............................................................................. 42 Section Two Checklist: Basic Skills Videos ....................................................................................................... 42 Section Three Checklist: Conditioned Emotional Response Video ................................................................. 42 Further Reading for Interest .............................................................................................................................. 42 APPENDIX A ....................................................................................................................................................... 44 Knowledge Base Assessment Information Provisional Junior Basic ............................................................... 44 Canine Body Language ...................................................................................................................................... 44 Canine Needs ..................................................................................................................................................... 44 Exercise ...................................................................................................................................................... 44 Socialization ............................................................................................................................................... 45 Barking ............................................................................................................................................................... 45

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5 Common causes of barking ....................................................................................................................... 46 Senses ................................................................................................................................................................ 46 Training .............................................................................................................................................................. 46 Crate training ............................................................................................................................................. 46 Humans greeting dogs ............................................................................................................................... 46 Dog – dog play ........................................................................................................................................... 47 Growling .................................................................................................................................................... 47 Suggested Reading List for Provisional Junior Basic ........................................................................................ 47 APPENDIX B ....................................................................................................................................................... 47 Knowledge Base Assessment Information Provisional Junior Advanced ....................................................... 47 Distance Increasing Signals and Distance Decreasing Signals ................................................................... 47 Displacement Behaviors ............................................................................................................................ 47 Appeasement Signals ................................................................................................................................ 48 Signs That a Bite May Happen – Doggone Safe ......................................................................................... 48 Piloerection................................................................................................................................................ 48 Breed Differences ...................................................................................................................................... 48 Environmental Enrichment – Louise Ginman, Pet Professional Guild Australia ....................................... 49 Responsible Pet Guardianship ........................................................................................................................... 49 Adherence to Local Rules and Regulations ....................................................................................................... 49 Generalization ................................................................................................................................................... 50 Luring ................................................................................................................................................................. 50 Adding Cues ....................................................................................................................................................... 52 Targeting............................................................................................................................................................ 53 Suggested Reading/Viewing List for Provisional Junior Advanced ................................................................. 54

Eligibility for Membership – Provisional Apprentice 18-20 years of age The Pet Professional Guild’s (PPG) junior memberships are divided into three categories • Category One: Provisional Junior Basic (age group 8-12 years) • Category Two: Provisional Junior Advanced (age group 13-17 years) • Category Three: Provisional Apprentice (age group 18-20 years) At each level of membership, the junior members will be required to sign the force-free pledge that appears below.

Pet Professional Guild Apprentice Pledge •

The animal’s welfare is a priority in any task I choose to undertake.

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• • •

• • • • • •

I must make decisions on behalf of the animal, based on the animal’s species, age, physical and emotional capacity.

I will protect the physical, emotional and environmental well-being of the animal.

I must only use tools and equipment in a manner that reflects the no pain, no force, no fear mantra of the PPG. Tools will not be used in a way that is contrary to their design and intent, i.e. not used in a manner which would cause psychological or physical pain, harm or damage.

I must always work within my personal capabilities and the guidelines set out by the PPG. I must communicate with other people in a respectful manner, even if I don’t agree with them.

If I don’t know the answer, then I will ask someone else who has more expertise in the relevant area.

I will always seek to do no harm I will always strive to do good I will be faithful to promises made

Membership Fee A membership fee of $20 per year will apply. The application form is here

Benefits of Membership General Membership Benefits • • •

• • •

Individual level member badge A moderated chat group on the website Junior Members in good standing, who wish to participate in the Pet Dog Ambassador Program assessments with their dogs, may register free of charge for the program. o Please note that this is registration for the program only and does not include any costs incurred by attending lessons for the Pet Dog Ambassador Program in group classes or privately.

Listing in Junior Membership Directory on PPG website A FREE e-book – A Kid’s Comprehensive Guide to Speaking Dog Participation in the Annual Training Deed Challenge o This challenge is divided into categories that reflect the Junior members’ age status. o Full details of the Challenge requirements for each group can be found below. o The winners of the Deed Challenge in each category will receive ▪ Provisional Apprentice (18-20) $100

Category Benefits Category Three: Provisional Apprentice (18-20 years) • Access to the Provisional Apprentice Accreditation Program o The ability to undertake this assessment process is included in the membership fee o The assessment consists of a more complex online quiz than that of the Junior Basic and Junior Advanced levels. The answers to this quiz can be found later in this Guide and in the free e-book that accompanies membership.

▪ On successful completion of the quiz the candidate then has two video assessments to submit. For more details see the information on Credentialing, below

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o Successful completion of these tasks will result in the Apprentice Member receiving an Accreditation card Invitation to apply for the Annual Apprentice Scholarship o An annual call for scholarship applications will be made. Applicants can choose which of the following programs they would like to apply for ▪ DogNostics Pet First Aid ▪ Doggone Safe’s Learn to Speak Dog ▪ DogNostics Training Certificate - Apprentice Level

Annual Training Deed Challenge Annual Training Deed Challenge for Provisional Apprentice (18-20 years) o o o o

This is to be a video training challenge The video must demonstrate the member helping a pet dog or cat The video must demonstrate a baseline behavior, progress and the achieved goal Goal behavior must be selected from one of the following: ▪ Desensitizing a harness or muzzle ▪ Crate training ▪ Walking a dog on a loose leash o The application must include ▪ The Junior Member’s name, age and membership number ▪ The demonstration dog or cat’s name, age and breed (or breed mix) ▪ A written training plan – how the behavior is to be taught ▪ A demonstration of the steps taken to train the behavior ▪ A demonstration of the successfully trained behavior in at least two different locations i.e. inside/outside, at home/at the beach, different rooms

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Eligibility for Credentialing • •

•

All applicants must agree to the Pet Professional Accreditation Board Guiding Principles and operating policies. A violation in this code of ethics will result in an immediate removal of any credentials. View the Guiding Principles here Provisional Apprentice applicants must be aged between 18-20 years o If age allows, it is required that the applicant has previously undertaken the Provisional Junior Advanced (13-17) credential i. If the earlier age opportunities have been missed, then the Apprentice applicant may apply directly without any pre-application requirements o A parental/guardian letter of consent must accompany any application for candidates considered to be minors in their own country of residence.

An annual renewal fee of US$30 will be necessary to maintain accreditation.

Applicants who pass the PPAB Provisional Apprentice accreditation will earn the specific title PA-A after their name. See the Gatekeepers below for more details about the application process.

Find your credentialing application form here

PPAB Provisional Apprentice (18-20 years) – Accredited (PA–A)

Provisional Apprentice (18-20 years) Credential Gatekeepers Your Accreditation Gatekeepers Gatekeeper One • • • • •

Review your Study Guide Read the book "A Kids Comprehensive Guide to Speaking Dog"- the link is on your member benefit page Click on the link in your member area and take your Knowledge Base Assessment Quiz Complete the Knowledge Base Assessment Quiz within 30 days of commencing it.

Receive your quiz results within an hour of taking your quiz

Gatekeeper Two • • • • • •

Receive confirmation that you passed your Knowledge Base Assessment Quiz Login to your video quiz software, found in your member area, and receive your computer randomized skills videos Submit your randomized skills videos within 90 days of receipt of using the link to select them.

The link is found in your member area Receive your video assessment results Become an accredited member and receive your certificate and badge You will then be listed on the Pet Professional Accreditation Board website

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The Assessment Process The Provisional Apprentice (Accredited) assessment is divided into three sections Section I Apprentice Knowledge Base Assessment Quiz Section II Basic Training Skills Videos Section III One further video – a positive, conditioned emotional response At all levels, each section must be successfully completed before the next section can be undertaken.

Section I: Knowledge Base Assessment For Provisional Apprentice Candidates Quiz components that may be assessed are those in the Provisional Junior Basic and Provisional Junior Advanced candidate requirements as well as: LEARNING THEORY Operant Conditioning Conditioned Emotional Response Sensitization TRAINING Chaining CANINE HEALTH & BIOLOGY Canine Developmental Stages Canine Senses

Respondent (Classical) Conditioning Matching Law Habituation Shaping Using Successive Approximations Canine Vital Signs

The Knowledge Base Assessment is broken into 3 categories. Each category is as important as the other. You will have 30 multiple choice and/or true/false questions.

You will have 1½ hours to complete the 30-question quiz. You must complete the quiz in one sitting.

To be successful in this section of the assessment, you must obtain a score of 85% or more.

If for any reason you are unable to take the online quiz, please contact the PPAB Administrator regarding your special circumstances. You can reach the Administrator by emailing info@credentialingboard.com Please Note: There may be questions from the Provisional Junior Basic assessment included in the Provisional Junior Advanced assessment. Ensure that you are familiar with the information that is included in Appendix A and Appendix B. Appendix A includes information on the following topics.

For Provisional Junior Basic Candidates BODY LANGUAGE Tail positions

Fear vs Relaxed

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Ear positions Playbow vs Alert CANINE NEEDS Exercise Socialization TRAINING Crate training Dog/dog play

Smiling vs Warning Reading faces Barking Senses Greeting people Growling

Appendix B includes information on the following topics.

For Provisional Junior Advanced Candidates BODY LANGUAGE Distance increasing signals Distance decreasing signals Displacement behaviors CANINE NEEDS Breed differences Responsible pet guardianship TRAINING Generalization Luring

Appeasement signals Signs of an imminent bite Piloerection Environmental Enrichment Adherence to local rules and regulations Adding cues Targeting

Knowledge Base Assessment Information Provisional Apprentice Learning Theory Operant Conditioning Operant conditioning is a behavior change process wherein behaviors become more or less likely to occur across subsequent occasions due to the historic consequences that it has generated. (www.associationofanimalbehaviaourprofessionals.com/glossary.html) Put simply behavior is strengthened or weakened by its consequences, because the behavior operates on the environment.

There are four types of operant conditioning.

Two types of operant conditioning strengthen the behavior - Reinforcement • Adding a stimulus to increase the frequency of the behavior - Positive Reinforcement • Removing a stimulus to increase the frequency of the behavior - Negative Reinforcement Two types of operant conditioning reduce the strength of the behavior - Punishment • Adding a stimulus to decrease the frequency of the behavior - Positive Punishment • Removing a stimulus to decrease the frequency of the behavior - Negative Punishment

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The terms positive and negative are not describing the consequence, the terms are describing whether a stimulus has been added (positive) or subtracted (negative) to strengthen or weaken the behavior.

+R +

Positive Reinforcement Positive reinforcement we are adding a stimulus (desirable/appetitive) to increase the frequency of behavior.

For positive reinforcement to occur the behavior must increase as a result of the appearance or presentation of the stimulus.

Examples: • Kids finish their homework and get a cup cake • Your dog sits when asked and gets a treat • You get paid for the last two weeks of work

-R

Negative Reinforcement Negative reinforcement we are removing a stimulus (aversive) to increase the frequency of behavior.

For negative reinforcement to occur the behavior must increase as a result of the removal of the stimulus.

Examples: • A dog who is shocked when he approaches the invisible fence line of the property – the shock stops when he moves away from the fence line (the pain is taken away) • Pinching the dog’s ear when wanting the dog to hold the dumbbell – when dog takes dumbbell the pinch stops (the pain is taken away) Escape and Avoidance Behaviors Negative reinforcement involves the subject’s use of escape and avoidance behaviors.

• Escape behavior: the occurrence of the escape behavior terminates the aversive stimulus.

“Escape conditioning occurs when the animal learns to perform an operant (a behavior) to terminate an ongoing, aversive stimulus. It is a "get me out of here" or "shut this off" reaction, aimed at escape from pain or annoyance.” www.intropsych.com/ch05_conditioning/avoidance_and_escape_learning.html

•

Avoidance behavior: the occurrence of the behavior prevents the presentation of the aversive stimulus. o “Escape conditioning is converted into avoidance conditioning by giving a signal before the aversive stimulus starts.

▪ If the animal receives a cue or signal that an aversive stimulus is coming, then after one or two occurrences of the punishing stimulus the cue will trigger an avoidance behavior.

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This kind of learning occurs quickly and is very durable” • E.g. Shock collars have warning beeps prior to the shock, the dog is soon conditioned to avoid the shock. Hence the dog avoids the aversive stimulus by doing another behavior.

• “Avoidance behaviors are incredibly persistent. This is true even when there is no longer anything to avoid. The reason is that an animal that performs an avoidance reaction never experiences the aversive stimulus. But it receives negative reinforcement in the form of relief. Because of this, avoidance behavior is self-reinforcing. It keeps going forever, because relief functions as a reinforcer even if the original threat is removed” www.intropsych.com/ch05_conditioning/avoidance_and_escape_learning.html

The problem with negative reinforcement is positive punishment had to happen first. Negative reinforcement is the removal of an aversive stimulus, therefore decreasing the behavior, so initially there had to have been an aversive stimulus present. For example: the use of a choke collar. The dog pulls on the lead, the choke collar tightens, the dog’s airway is restricted, or the dog pulls and the owner gives the chain a harsh jerk and inflicts a sudden pain to the dog’s neck. The dog will possibly stop walking and the choke collar loosens, or the dog will slow his pace and the choke collar loosens. In either scenario initially an aversive has been added, the pain of the choke and the behavior of pulling has decreased. Positive punishment has taken place. Now the dog has learned that if they hear the chain sliding on itself or starting to tighten on their neck they slow their place and not pull forward allowing the choke chain to loosen. The dog is avoiding an aversive and the behavior of walking without pulling continues, negative reinforcement is taking place.

+P +

Positive Punishment Positive punishment we are adding a stimulus (aversive) which will reduce the frequency of behavior For positive punishment to occur the behavior must decrease as a result of the appearance or presentation of the stimulus.

Examples: • Hitting a person, or dog • Yelling or shouting • Spraying with a water bottle Please note that Positive Punishment is not used by Pet Professional Guild members.

-P •

Negative Punishment Negative punishment we are removing a stimulus (desirable/appetitive) to reduce the frequency of behavior.

For negative punishment to occur the behavior must decrease as a result of the removal of the stimulus or the dog’s removal from the stimulus Examples: • Removing your attention from your dog when he is jumping on

you Removing a child from the sandpit because he was throwing sand

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Respondent Conditioning Respondent conditioning used to be called Pavlovian or Classical conditioning. Pavlov, through a series of experiments, proved that dogs could be conditioned to involuntarily salivate in response to the sound of a bell ringing. Initially, the ringing of a bell indicated that the dogs were going to be fed. Even though food may not have been present, once conditioned to the knowledge that the bell meant food, the dogs salivated at the sound of the bell. This is learning by association.

In her book, Coaching People to Train Their Dogs (page 55), Terry Ryan says: Classical conditioning is the learned association between two events: one event is neutral and one event elicits an unconditioned response.

She goes on to give an example (page 56): To a dog, the sound of a clicker is unimportant (unless of course she is sound sensitive!). The click has no real meaning at first, but that sound becomes a good sound if it is quickly and regularly followed by a bit of desired food. It is a learned association. It is classical conditioning.

The Respondent Conditioning Process The conditioning process is where items or objects within the dog’s environment go from being a neutral stimulus (NS) to a conditioned stimulus (CS) that elicits a conditioned response (CR).

Before Conditioning: A neutral stimulus (NS) has no meaning and therefore there is no response, but an unconditioned stimulus (US) such as food elicits a dog to salivate. Salivation is the unconditioned response (UR).

During the Conditioning Process: Every time the unconditioned stimulus (US) is presented the neutral stimulus (NS) is presented. The unconditioned stimulus is being paired with the neutral stimulus. Hence the neutral stimulus is now having meaning as a conditioned stimulus (CS).

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After the Conditioning Process: The neutral stimulus has now become a conditioned stimulus (CS) and now elicits a conditioned response (CR).

Factors Affecting Respondent Conditioning • •

•

•

•

•

The temporal (time) relationship between the conditioned stimulus (CS) and unconditioned stimulus (UCS).

The nature of the unconditioned stimulus and conditioned stimulus. o The intensity of a stimulus will influence how effective the stimulus is o An intense stimulus is more relevant and will function more effectively as a conditioned stimulus The number of pairings o For stronger conditioning between conditioned and unconditioned stimulus the more pairings the better. o Although in some cases minimal pairing is enough to establish a neutral stimulus as a conditioned stimulus The contingency between the conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus. o Event Y is contingent (dependent) on another event X. If Y were present then it predicts X happening o The conditioned stimulus predicts the unconditioned stimulus The stimulus feature o If the conditioned stimulus has more than one component it is called a compound stimulus. For example the CS is a flashing light and a ringing sound. o After conditioning to see the effects of the individual components of the conditioned compound stimulus they are presented separately and when one is weaker than the other it is referred to as overshadowing.

Latent Inhibition - the previous exposure to the conditioned stimulus o If there has been exposure in the past to the neutral stimulus it is less likely to become a conditioned stimulus when paired with an unconditioned stimulus. o For example: • A child who has had many great experiences with the family dog is one day accidentally knocked over by the family dog. It would be unlikely that the family dog will become a conditioned stimulus for a fear response • A child who has never had a dog visits a home with a dog and is accidentally knocked over by this dog. The dog is an unconditioned stimulus that has elicited an unconditioned response, in this case fear, and because of this pairing the dog has become a conditioned stimulus that elicits a conditioned response (fear) when the child next visits and sees the dog.

Canine Behavioral School Inc Aspiring Instructor Program 2018

Conditioned Emotional Response An emotional response is how we feel when we find something pleasurable or how frightened, fearful etc. we feel when there is something unpleasant. This is respondent conditioning at work.

We can change a dog’s emotional response to triggers by repeatedly pairing the trigger with something the dog enjoys, such as food, toys or play (Counter Conditioning). In time, the dog learns Copyright 2018 The Pet Professional Accreditation Board. June 2018

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to associate the trigger with the pleasurable thing and develops a positive conditioned emotional response (+CER) to the trigger itself.

Respondent conditioning is always present and therefore we can take advantage of this when working with problematic behavior or when we want to make a situation, object or environment pleasurable. These responses are known as positive or negative emotional responses.

A valuable website for further information on this subject is http://careforreactivedogs.com/ Respondent and Operant Conditioning Working Together: If a subject was fearful (respondent) of an object, fleeing (operant) from this object would be highly valuable. The subject would be motivated to get away. If the object was to bring pleasure (respondent) to the subject, the subject gaining access (operant) to the object would be valuable.

• Emotional responses motivate operants • Emotional responses determine which consequences will be effective and how effective • Without emotional responses, consequences will have no value, which will then influence which operants will be performed A dog who is lunging, barking, pacing, whining is demonstrating operant behaviors that we can see.

These behaviors reflect his emotional response, a visual of how his body is handling his emotional response.

Habituation Is defined as a progressive decrease in the vigour (energy, drive) of an elicited response that may occur with repeated presentations of the eliciting stimulus. For example, people who live near an airport or a railway line, after a time become so accustomed to the sounds that they do not find the sound annoying. Dogs who are appropriately trained to the hunter’s gun, habituate to its sound and are not frightened of the sound

Sensitization Is defined as an increase in the vigour of an elicited behavior that may result from repeated presentations of the eliciting stimulus. Using the airport analogy again, a person who does not habituate to the sounds of the airport can become more sensitive or reactive to the sounds.

Matching Law One phenomenon which was identified in laboratory studies using nonhumans is the “Matching Law.” The Matching Law theorizes that, given two concurrently available response alternatives the relative rate of responding equals the relative rate of reinforcement. In other words if there are two response options and response option 1 provides two times the rate of reinforcement provided by option 2 then there will be two times the rate of responding on option 1 compared to option 2.

A good human example is to consider the possibility that you need to speak to a friend, and there are two telephone numbers available for this friend, home or cell. If in your experience you are twice as likely to get through to your friend on the cell number as you are on the home number, then you are likely to call the cell number twice as often as you would the home number. This is Matching Law. Niki Tudge, DogNostics Career Center 2017

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Training Chaining “Chaining refers to a method of teaching a behavior using behavior chains. Behavior chains are sequences of individual behaviors that when linked together form a terminal behavior. When teaching a behavior using chaining, the first step is to complete a task analysis. Task analyses serve the purpose of identifying all the smaller, teachable units of a behavior that make up a behavior chain...A task analysis isn’t as complicated as it might sound. It is basically the GPS step- by- step directions to completing the skill. A task analysis is typically created by completing the skill yourself or watching someone else complete the skill. It’s very important not to just write up a task analysis based on your memory. Even simple tasks, like making a sandwich, can have small important steps that you may inadvertently skip.” http://abaappliedbehavioranalysis.weebly.com/chaining.html Chaining can be used to teach multi-step behaviors or complex skills. What is a complex skill? It is a skill that consists of several small behaviors that are linked (or chained) together to accomplish the result.

An example of a chained or complex behavior is a formal recall in the obedience ring. Start by dissecting the various parts of the behavior; this is called a task analysis.

Formal Recall 1. Sit the dog 2. Ask dog to stay 3. Leave the dog 4. Call the dog 5. Dog comes 6. Dog sits in front of owner 7. Ask the dog to ‘finish’ 8. Dog returns around behind the owner to heel position (or does a flip finish to heel position) 9. Dog sits and waits for release With regards to chaining, there are two ways that this behavior can be taught.

Forward Chaining Begin at the first part of the behavior and teach each of the behaviors in order from beginning to end. When all steps have been taught individually move to chain steps 1 and 2 together moving forward through the chain to the end.

Backward Chaining This involves teaching the last behavior first and working backwards through the list of steps. Using the example above, teach steps 9 and 8. Combine step 8 and 9 and reinforce at successful conclusion of step 9. Continue to add an earlier step until you have the complete behavior chained to form the whole.

The advantage of this way of chaining is that the dog is always working towards the end goal of achieving the reinforcer. Each step can be self-reinforcing as it brings the dog closer to the end goal of reinforcement. “Back chaining works because the learner is always progressing towards

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increasing experience of the behavior or content so it gets easier, not harder to remember. Start strong and finish even more confident.” www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMEf8QXqRDU Canine Behavioral School Inc Aspiring Instructor Program 2018

Shaping by Successive Approximations Shaping is a postcedent strategy and its proper name is Differential Reinforcement of Successive Approximations of a Target Behavior. It is postcedent because it “…manipulates what comes after the behavior.” James O’Heare, Changing Problem Behavior, 2010 The technique of shaping is reinforcing small approximations or steps in succession towards a desired or target behavior. Often the target behavior is complicated and cannot be lured, captured or targeted. Shaping is ideal for complex behaviors.

With shaping it is essential that each of the approximations or steps is reinforced immediately. The ideal reinforcer needs to be small and easily delivered so as not to delay the shaping process and not to make the dog become satiated (full) too quickly. The trainer needs to pay attention to the dog’s movements and have excellent timing when delivering the bridge and reinforcement.

The skill of shaping is to break the target behavior into small steps.

Once the first step or approximation has been reached and is reliable then the trainer needs to move towards the next approximation.

The prior approximation is now put into extinction, no longer reinforced. Extinction will cause the dog to offer variable behaviors which, if close to the next approximation, will then be reinforced.

This process is repeated as the trainer gradually moves through the approximations to reach the target behavior.

• • •

Often a shaping session is modified at the time of execution because: • The steps or approximations may be too large and will need to be further broken down into smaller steps.

The rate of reinforcement has decreased and therefore by reinforcing smaller steps the trainer will be able to maintain a higher rate of reinforcement.

The dog is becoming frustrated with the training session.

The trainer is becoming frustrated with the training session.

If a target behavior is not in the dog’s repertoire, or is too complicated to lure, or cannot be captured then shaping is an ideal training procedure.

For dogs who have had harsh or aversive experiences or just lack self-confidence, shaping is an ideal technique to help these dogs. These dogs may have difficulty with the concept of being empowered to act freely but as a ‘hands off’ approach it is an excellent tool. Be patient with these dogs.

Shaping is probably not an ideal training technique to introduce to beginners because the technique needs to be used properly and requires a knowledge of operant and respondent conditioning. Pet owners with more skills will find it another useful tool for their toolbox.

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Shaping Tips – James O’Heare – Changing Problem Behavior, 2010 • “Define your terminal (end) target behavior clearly and operationally, including a specific measure for it. Don’t settle for vague descriptions or unverifiable mental states.

• Prepare a shaping plan, identifying each approximation, as a guide, but remain flexible. Be prepared, in case the subject jumps steps, to break an approximation down into more steps.

Also be prepared to end a session early after a series of successful trials, so that the process remains a pleasant experience.

• Identify highly effective reinforcers…Use a clicker or other precise, clear and unique stimulus as your conditioned reinforce. Maintain the best timing and contiguity possible.

• Set approximations large enough that the learning is not likely to jump more than a couple of steps at a time, but small enough to prevent frustration or boredom. Monitor throughout for necessary adjustments.

• Shape one clear dimension of the behavior at a time as your approximation criterion (e.g. duration or frequency or latency). When shaping another dimension, initially relax the other dimensions.

• Have fun and make sure the subject does too! Maintain enthusiasm and a demeanor and pace appropriate to the subject. Avoid interruptions and distractions. Pay close attention to the subject and do not become distracted yourself.

• If the rate or frequency of the behavior deteriorates or fails to progress adequately, review previous approximations, consider pace and enthusiasm or even a different behavior or training method.

• End training sessions after a series of successfully reinforced trials rather than after extinction trials (i.e. end on a good note). Be very observant for any initial indications of frustration or boredom and try to end before these occur in subsequent sessions. If necessary, provide reinforcement for a few trials at a previous approximation before ending.

In 1984 Karen Pryor listed 10 laws of shaping in her book “Don’t Shoot the Dog”. Since that time more has been learned about how we train and work with dogs. Those Ten Laws of Shaping have now become known as the Modern Principles of Shaping. You can read more about these principles and the reason for the change here www.clickertraining.com/the-ten-laws-of-shapingrevisited In brief the Modern Principles of Shaping are 1. Be prepared before you start: Ensure that everything is set up and you have all that you require ready to go before you actually start your shaping session. What tools do you need?

What props? Your chosen reinforcers? Are they all at your finger tips? You need to be able to bridge and reinforce the very first interest the dog shows in your planned exercise. It is advisable to set up everything before the dog even enters the training area.

2. Ensure success at each step: Consider shaping to be like a staircase. Each step moves you closer to your desired goal. However, make sure the steps aren’t too big. Break down behaviour into small enough steps that the animal has a genuine chance to earn a reinforcer.

3. Train one step at a time: As trainers it is difficult to get the timing of the bridge and reinforcer correct if we are looking at too many aspects of the training at once. Start off with the obvious, like where the animal will stand in relation to you the trainer; if it is a moving behaviour, which direction should the animal be moving. Then start homing in on other parts of the behaviour.

One criterion at a time. Eventually you will need to put these things altogether but help yourself by starting with one criterion at a time.

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4. Relax criteria when something changes: When we introduce the next step of the behaviour, when we make it longer, or louder, or change our requirements, we also have to relax some of the other criteria that the animal has already learned. Just for a couple of repetitions while the animal gets used to the new criterion. Karolina Westlund refers to it as a speed hump. She says “So, take your foot off the pedal…Relax criteria when something changes”. She uses duration as an example. She says that if you start focusing on duration, the topography (what the behaviour looks like) may suddenly disappear – the sit may not be as straight, the straightness of the line of movement may shift but she says “After 1-2 repetitions, you have both the duration and the topography”.

5. If one door closes, find another: in short, this means that if what you are doing isn’t working, try another way. You should have a training plan, but if it isn’t getting results, don’t be afraid to change your plan.

6. Keep training sessions continuous: This is one of the new guidelines and was not in the original 10 Laws of Shaping. What this means is that during the time that you are training your animal, he should be “…constantly engaged in the learning process throughout the session. He should be working the entire time except for the moment when he is consuming or enjoying his reinforcers” (Westlund 2019). This also means that you, as the trainer, need to be focused on ensuring that your animal is engaged in the training process.

7. Go back to kindergarten if necessary: What do you do when things go wrong? Go back a step or two to engage the animal and allow him to earn some easy reinforcers. Then, once his confidence has been restored, try again for the new element of the behaviour.

8. Keep your attention on your learner: If you are in the middle of a training session and your phone rings, let it ring. It is unreasonable to the animal to stop the training session needlessly.

“We mustn’t forget that the removal of attention is a powerful tool not to be used carelessly.”

(Westlund 2019) 9. Stay ahead of your learner: If you have a training plan and suddenly your animal jumps a few steps ahead of the plan, that is ok. Don’t think that because you have a plan you must stick to it. It is there as a guide, it is not set in stone. When your animal skips ahead a few approximations, consider it a wonderful opportunity to make a lot of progress.

10. Quit while you are ahead and end each session with something the learner finds reinforcing: It is a joyous occasion when your dog finally offers the correct behaviour, but don’t make the mistake of asking for it once too often. If your dog just doesn’t want to do it, he ends with a poor performance which you may have caused because you fell for the ‘just one more’ syndrome. Stop training while your dog is succeeding at the behaviour and finish on a high note. Keep them wanting more.

To see Karolina Westlund’s video about the modern principles of shaping, use this link https://illis.se/en/the-modern-principles-of-shaping/ Consider the analogy of driving to an unfamiliar destination If you, as the driver, were to follow another vehicle, to the location (luring), you would be less likely to take notice of street names, landmarks, direction. Hence if you had to find your way on your own, it may prove difficult.

If your vehicle had a GPS installed (targeting) you would probably pay a little more attention to the landmarks, but it would still be difficult to navigate to the same location in the future without guidance.

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If you were to use a map and plan how to reach the destination (shaping), you would on future occasions be more likely to remember how to get to the destination.

What to avoid • Hesitation before delivering the reinforce • Using inadequate reinforcers o This will slow the learning process • Expecting too much too quickly Remember • Magnitude of the reinforcer is important • Contingency and contiguity are important • Contingency generally refers to the relationship between a behavior and its controlling environmental variables (O’Heare 2007) • Contiguity - learning will occur only if events occur relatively close together in time. https://www.alleydog.com/glossary/definition.php?term=Contiguity Canine Behavioral School Inc Aspiring Instructor Program 2018

Canine Health and Biology Canine Vital Signs Normal Canine Vital Signs • Heart Rate: 60-160 beats per minute • Respiratory Rate: 10-30 breaths per minute (unless panting) • Temperature: 100.5-102.5˚ Fahrenheit o Temperature: 38.05 – 39.17 Centigrade • Mucous Membrane color and refill time: Pink, <2 seconds

Canine Developmental Stages Diamonds in the Ruff Developmental Stages in Dogs: http://www.diamondsintheruff.com/developmental-stages

Canine Senses Responsible Dog Training and Behavior Solutions https://responsibledog.net/2011/03/21/the-canine-senses/

Suggested Reading/Viewing List for Provisional Apprentice • • • • •

Notes for Juniors in Appendix A & B The Language of Dogs – DVD Sarah Kalnajs Conditioned Emotional Response. Eileen Anderson www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tStS_Eihnk Coaching People to Train Their Dogs – Terry Ryan 2005 The Modern Principles of Shaping (2019) https://illis.se/en/the-modern-principles-of-shaping/

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Section II: Film Clips – Basic Training Skills Requirements for All Basic Training Skills Video • •

•

•

Evidence of training methods presented in each video must comply with the Pet Professional Accreditation Board’s Guiding Principles and operating policies. http://credentialingboard.com/Guiding-Principles/ All training methods used must be force-free. Force-free is defined as: o No shock, no pain, no choke, no fear, no physical force, no compulsion-based methods are employed to train or care for a pet o 100% compliance is expected.

Each film clip must be between 1-3 minutes in length plus 1 extra minute if required for any discussion requested o Any video that exceeds 4 minutes will not be assessed o A brief verbal or caption explanation of what you intend to teach and how you intend to teach it must be at the beginning of your film clip ▪ E.g. I am going to demonstrate how to train a “Sit” in two different locations.

▪ E.g. A caption tile before the film clip begins with “Sit – in two locations” written on it.

If asked to demonstrate how something is taught, you may show short sections of each step of the teaching process to ensure your video stays within 1-3 minutes. o If also asked to discuss or describe something, you have one extra minute (i.e. 4 minutes all together)

Submission Format for All Videos 1. At all times you must be visible and identifiable in the film submission.

2. Care must be taken that you can be clearly heard during training. a. Often wind across a camera speaker masks human voice. b. Ensure that your film clip is clearly audible. c. Film clips with inaudible sound tracks will not be accepted as evidence of your training skills 3. Care must be taken that your film clip is in focus. a. Blurred film clips will not be accepted as evidence of your training skills 4. The format in which you should submit your Training Skills Application is via YouTube. All your videos must be uploaded to YouTube and marked unlisted. Then all 8 videos must be put on to one playlist. The playlist link should be emailed to Videos@credentialingboard.com

Skills Requirements for Provisional Apprentice Candidates To determine your skills and knowledge in relation to basic training you are required to present to the PPAB, filmed evidence of you teaching or demonstrating (as dictated by the descriptions below) the five skills from the list above that you have not already submitted for your Provisional Junior Advanced Credential. Please Note: If you have not undertaken the Provisional Junior Advanced credential, you will need to submit all ten skills videos.

The skills that it are necessary for this assessment are:

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1. Conditioning the Bridge • You must demonstrate how to condition a bridge (word, clicker, whistle, tongue click, thumbs up or flash light) • You must describe why a bridged is used 2.

• • •

Stand You must demonstrate teaching the dog to stand.

You must appropriately add a verbal or visual cue.

You must demonstrate that the dog can respond to the verbal/visual cue, giving only one cue with a 2-3 second latency. o Without using a lure o Ensuring you bridge and reinforce appropriately

3. Recall • You must twice demonstrate the dog performing an off-leash recall from a distance of 5 metres (20 feet) in a distracting environment (e.g. outside, people moving past, noise). Although it is preferred that the dog is off leash for this demonstration, a light line may be used for the sake of safety if necessary.

• You must discuss the importance of teaching a dog a good recall.

4. Tricks You must demonstrate teaching a dog a simple trick. Teach one of the following: o Give paw (shake or high five) o Bow o Speak o Spin/Twist o Sit Pretty (Say Please) o Roll Over • The dog must repeat this trick three times in succession, responding with a 2-3 second latency.

5. Wait to be Fed You must demonstrate the following: o Cue the dog to sit, drop or stand o Ask the dog to stay o Place the food bowl (with low value food) 1 metre (3 feet) away from the dog o Wait for 5 seconds and then cue to the dog that he may eat from the bowl o While the dog is eating, drop higher quality food into his bowl 6. Entrance Manners You must demonstrate your dog’s understanding of entrance manners by doing the following: o Cue your dog to wait at the entrance in either a sit, drop or stand o On releasing the dog to go through the entrance, you may choose one of the following options: o moving through the entrance together o asking the dog to go first and then follow the dog

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o moving through first and requesting the dog to follow o Dog should remain in position with a loose leash whilst gate or door is closed after going through it 7. Handling You must demonstrate that you can handle your dog for at least two seconds on the following body parts: • Both ears, lifting the pinna (the flap of the ear) and running your finger lightly around the outside of each ear canal • Run your hand down the full length of the dog’s tail and lift the tail above the horizontal • Handle each of the dog’s feet, running your fingers around the toes • Handle the dog’s mouth and flews, lifting the flews on each side to show the teeth • Stroke along the full length of the dog’s back.

8. Emergency Stop • Allow your dog to wander on a 2 metre (6 foot) leash • At any given time, you shall cue the dog to stop o The dog must stop (in any position – sit, stand, drop) within 2 seconds • You can then recall the dog or walk to where the dog has stopped • You must take the dog’s collar under the chin or to the side of the dog’s head • You must describe one good reason for teaching the dog this exercise 9. Leave It • • • • • • • • •

Place two markers 10 meters (32 feet) apart Place an upturned bucket or container midway between the 2 markers, 1 meter (3 feet) to left or right of the midline. Place a toy on the upturned bucket or container You must walk the dog between the two markers and past the upturned bucket or container with the dog closest to the bucket If necessary, you may calmly cue the dog to leave the object If cued and the dog leaves the object, you must bridge and reinforce the dog’s action When you reach the far marker, have a family member or friend remove the toy on the upturned bucket or container and in its place put some human food, e.g. muffin, cookie, sausage, or cake You must then walk the dog between the two markers and past the upturned bucket or container Again, if necessary, you can calmly cue the dog to leave the food o If cued and the dog leaves the food, you must bridge and reinforce the dog’s action To be successful, the dog must leave both the toy and the food

10. Being Alone • You must pass the dog’s leash to an assistant (this must be an adult) • This is not a formal stay but you may cue the dog with such words as ‘back soon’ or ‘be good’

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• • • • •

You then must remove yourself out of the dog’s sight for 15 seconds Your assistant may talk to the dog and/or offer treats in your absence The dog can show interest in where you go but must not pull towards you When you return to your dog after 15 seconds, the dog can show pleasure at your return but must not jump on you or impede your return You must take the leash from the assistant with no interference from the dog

Please note that if you have already successfully completed and gained recognition for five of these skills by undertaking the Provisional Junior Advanced credential you need only complete the remaining five skills.

Creating a Positive Conditioned Emotional Response (CER) As well as undertaking the 5 skills mentioned above, you must also video the process of conditioning a positive emotional response.

• You must explain what a conditioned emotional response is and how to achieve it (time allowed is one minute). Often dogs will find certain items annoying or for some reason they are worried about some object.

• In a video lasting no more than three (3) minutes you must demonstrate how you have changed the dog’s experience of that object or procedure from being either neutral or annoying to being a happy emotional response or an alternative positive response to that situation. In most cases it will take longer than 3 minutes to achieve this. Your video may show segments of your progression.

• You must show the baseline behavior of the dog, parts of your training procedure and his/her training outcome, together with your explanation of a CER. Total time of video with explanation is four (4) minutes.

• For more information about conditioned emotional responses please check out this website - http://careforreactivedogs.com/

Requirements for CER Film Clip •

• •

•

Each film clip must be no more than 3 minutes in duration o You have an extra minute in which to explain what a conditioned emotional response is o You will be penalised for going over the recommended time Evidence of training methods presented in this video must comply with the Pet Professional Accreditation Board’s Guiding Principles and operating policies. http://credentialingboard.com/Guiding-Principles All training methods used must be force-free. Force-free is defined as: o No shock, no pain, no choke, no fear, no physical force, no compulsion-based methods are employed to train or care for a pet o 100% compliance is expected.

You must be aware of behavioral signals being offered by the dog with whom you demonstrate o You must make allowances for behavioral issues and demonstrate how to handle those issues should they occur o This assessment will be considered not satisfactory if your training does not reflect appropriate action in the face of canine stress, discomfort or confusion.

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▪

•

You will be assessed on how you handle any untoward behavioral issue(s) that arise ▪ You will be assessed on your handling of the environment to enable optimal learning for the dog.

You must consider the dog’s breed, age, individual idiosyncrasies and needs.

How to Train the Basic Skills There are many ways to train the above-mentioned skills listed. Below are some methods that can be used to train these skills using force-free methods. We strongly suggest that if you need help with techniques required to train these skills, that you contact a Pet Professional Guild trainer/instructor.

You can do this via the following website and searching in the Member Search of the sites PPG USA https://www.petprofessionalguild.com/ PPG British Isles https://ppgbi.com/ PPG Australia https://www.petprofessionalguild.com/ Below are some suggestions about how to train each of the skills listed above. These are suggestions only and it is recommended that help be sought from a PPG listed instructor if you and/or your parent/guardian is unfamiliar with these methods.

Condition the Bridge A bridge allows a connection from one side of the river to the other. Similarly, a bridge in dog training is used to connect, in the dog’s mind, that the action that he is performing is the one that earns him a reinforcer.

The bridge pinpoints the exact behavior you wish to reinforce.

It is also helpful when you are some distance from your dog and are unable to get a treat to him at the precise moment you wish to reinforce.

The bridge can be verbal (a word), a sound (a clicker or a whistle), tactile (touch), or visual (a flashlight or thumbs up, often used for deaf dogs). Dogs can be conditioned to respond to any or all the above as a bridge once they learn that the word, sound, light or touch means something.

Correct bridging is a powerful tool; care should be taken to only bridge the exact part of the behavior you wish to reinforce. Sloppy bridging can result in a completely different behavior to the one you wanted. You get the behavior you bridge, not necessarily the behavior that you thought you were training.

Whatever bridge you use, you need to let your dog know that your bridge has meaning.

•

Do not ask the dog for any behavior. Say your bridging word (e.g. ‘yes’) or, if using a clicker, click. Pause for a fraction of a second, then give the dog a small, tasty treat.

•

Do this four times. Then bridge and see if the dog looks at you as if to say, “where is my food?”

If he does, he has got the connection – give him the food.

•

If he doesn’t, take a break of a minute or two and then do it again. It won’t take long and he will know that ‘yes’ or click means something good is coming.

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•

When you know that your dog is responding well to the bridge both indoors and outside then you can move on to training specific behaviors.

A bridge is a promise to pay. You must reinforce your dog after each bridge – no exceptions – even if you have accidentally bridged the wrong behavior. Later we will talk about fading both the bridge and the food.

Do not use the bridge to gain your dog’s attention. It is strictly mark correct behavior.

Sit Ensure you have your dog’s attention. Without saying anything and keeping your body movements to a minimum: •

Move your hand containing a treat towards the dog’s nose and up over his head between the ears. Move your hand slowly enough for the dog’s nose to follow, but not so slowly that the dog gives up. Hold the treat so the dog lifts his head up, but not so high he jumps up for it.

•

As the head lifts, his spine begins to slope backwards and, if the treat is in the correct position, the dog will bend the back legs and sit. The instant the rear end hits the ground, bridge, and reinforce the dog.

•

You can reinforce the dog with the food lure you used or preferably use a different treat and use the lure treat again for the next trial. If possible treat the dog from above to keep the dog in the sit position.

•

Reset the dog for another trial.

•

Repeat five times. Try luring without any treat in your hand, but make sure you can quickly get the treat and reinforce the dog from above so his head remains up with his bottom on the ground.

•

Do not get out a treat while the dog is in the process of sitting as it will cause the dog to focus more on the treats than on you.

•

The movement of your hand with the food as a lure becomes your sit hand signal. As dogs are generally more responsive to visual signals than verbal ones, this is a good habit to get into.

Troubleshooting •

If your dog jumps up to grab the food, you are holding the food too high. Bring it closer to his nose and then slowly over the top of his head.

•

If your dog is turning to get the food rather than sitting, you are probably taking the food too quickly over the top of his head. Go more slowly.

•

If your dog keeps walking backwards with his head up looking at the treat in your hand, practice this near a wall so the dog has his back to the wall and cannot back up any further.

Gotcha & go, Gotcha & go home – collar grabs There may come a day when your dog’s lead breaks or he may be off lead and someone will grab him by the collar. Dogs can be startled by their collars being grabbed if they are not used to it. Often it happens over the top of their heads and may result in them biting. Conditioning your dog to

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having his collar grabbed means your dog will be more accepting of this action if it happens.

Gotcha & go •

Gently touch your dog’s collar while giving him a treat (you don’t need to bridge first).

•

Repeat until he is happy with your gentle touching of the collar

•

Next, touch the dog’s collar from different angles and give him a treat, so he gets used to your hand approaching from all directions (including underneath). Do not move onto the next step until your dog is comfortable with this.

•

Next, become a little firmer in your holding of the collar. Give the collar a gentle shake and reinforce your dog for his tolerance.

•

When he is happy with this grabbing of the collar you can add the verbal cue ‘Gotcha’ and reinforce the dog. Make this a game and ensure that all members of the family can join in this game also (one at a time of course).

Condition your dog’s name This exercise teaches your dog that his name is important.

•

Take five pieces of food (small and tasty).

•

Say the dog’s name, hesitate a fraction of a second and then give him the food.

•

Do this four times in a row.

•

On the fifth attempt say the dog’s name. If you get an immediate response, bridge and reinforce the dog with another treat. If you do not get an immediate response (i.e. the dog doesn’t look at you) then repeat with five more treats (perhaps the treats may need to be just a little more interesting for the dog).

•

Generalise this behavior. Be sure that your dog will respond to his name in every room in the house, outside, with children around, despite other distractions, whilst out for a walk etc.

Your dog’s name should only ever be used to tell your dog that you are going to give him some other instructions. Don’t reprimand your dog by yelling his name. We don’t want him afraid of his name.

Don’t just use your dog’s name for recalls. His name will become ‘white noise’ and not mean anything to him. Calling “Fido, Fido, Fido” does not tell your dog what you want him to do, he will soon switch off and/or become frustrated.

Gaining your dog’s attention with ‘look’ ‘Look’ allows you to get your dog to focus on you prior to giving some instructions or teaching him something.

•

Say your dog’s name and when he turns or looks at you, lure by bringing a treat in your hand up to the level of your eyes

•

Your dog will follow the treat with his eyes and, when he does, add your cue word (perhaps ‘look’ or ‘watch’), bridge and then reinforce your dog. Ensure you only say the cue word when he is looking at you.

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•

Repeat two or three times with the food.

•

Next, fade the lure to a hand signal, such as bringing your finger to your eye without the food in your hand. When your dog responds, bridge and treat from the other hand.

•

Repeat without the food in your hand (but still paying with the other hand) five times more.

•

Now gradually reduce the hand signal so that you can merely lift a finger and have the dog respond or have him respond to just the verbal cue.

•

Remember to proof this exercise by having him look at you no matter where you are or who might be walking by!

Go to place – mat training It is important that your dog has a secure place to settle. This is his spot, his crate/bed/mat and is not to be shared by anyone else in the family. Ensure that small children understand and respect your dog’s personal space in this one safe, secure area he has for himself.

This is also a useful tool for you. Going to his mat becomes a cue to your dog to settle and be calm or can be used as a place for him to go if he is pestering you – however it should never be a place of punishment. Never send him to his mat in anger.

•

Stand adjacent to the mat and lure your dog a short distance onto it. As soon as any part of his body touches the mat, bridge, and reinforce by tossing the treat away from the mat to set him up for another trial. Repeat five times. Once he knows how to drop/lie down, follow the points below.

•

Without using the ‘drop’ cue, lure your dog down into a drop on the mat. Bridge and reinforce.

Do not ask the dog to drop. We want him to go into a drop by himself when he gets to the mat.

Repeat until the dog is reliably going to the mat and lying down.

•

Begin to fade the lure and add the cue word ‘On your mat’ or similar. Use the same hand signal you used in the steps above but without the food in your hand – the lure becomes the hand signal. Bridge and reinforce your dog (not from the signal hand).

•

As the dog becomes better at going to the mat you can move yourself away from the mat and make the request.

•

Gradually increase the distance from which you send him to his mat.

•

To increase the time the dog spends on the mat you should delay the bridge so that the dog settles for a longer and longer time. However, during this time, you can toss him treats while he is on the mat or, if you are close to him, offer them to him in your hand. Remember you don’t bridge this (as bridging can end the behavior). This is merely paying the stay on the mat.

•

Move the mat to different locations so that he will go to his mat, no matter where it is. This means that you can take the mat with you and have your dog settle anywhere you go. You can also teach him to go to multiple mats if you have them around the house.

•

When you have bridged and reinforced, the dog can get off the mat. If you reinforce in place (i.e. on the mat) then you may find that the dog is quite happy to be on the mat.

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•

Remember to ‘release’ him from the mat once the exercise is over. He won’t stay there forever but you may need him there for a period without breaking.

Troubleshooting •

If your dog is not going to his mat, think whether you have ever sent him to his mat when you were cross with him. The mat is for quiet time, NOT a punishment tool or ‘jail’. Never send your dog to his crate/mat/bed/blanket etc. in anger. If you have used this as a punishment spot, you will need to find another mat or location or possibly both and begin again. You can’t blame your dog for not wanting to go to a place of punishment if he hasn’t been ‘bad’!

•

If your dog is confused, you have probably gone too far, too fast. Go back to basics and refresh his memory on what you want.

•

If you’re having trouble getting your dog to settle, put him on the lead and attempt the steps above while he is limited to the distance he can move from the mat.

•

If you’re having trouble getting him onto the mat, toss a treat on his mat and bridge when he touches the mat. Reinforce by tossing the treat away from the mat.

Lie Down/Drop Four different methods can be used to help your dog lie down/drop to ‘lie down’ or ‘drop’. Before practicing, please consider your dog’s comfort levels. Lying on a cold, hard surface is not conducive to wanting to do it again. Set your dog up for success by ensuring that the training environment is safe, secure and comfortable.

We recommend that you do not use the word ‘down’ for this exercise as you will find that it is often used if we want him to get off the couch etc. It will confuse your dog if you ask him to ‘get down’ off the couch and then cue ‘down’ if you want him to lie down.

Teach the dog to lie down in front of you and on both sides to help generalise the behavior. Begin with your dog in the sit position.

Lie down – method 1 – Wait him out •

Count out five treats.

•

Hold a treat to the dog’s nose and SLOWLY lower it vertically towards the floor, so that you place your hand between the dog’s front feet.

•

Now wait him out. Hold still and see if he lies down.

•

Bridge and reinforce when he does.

•

Repeat four times more with the food in your hand. Then try without the food in your hand.

Bridge and reinforce from the other hand when job is done.

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Lie down – method 2 – L-shape •

Count out five treats.

•

Hold a treat to the dog’s nose and SLOWLY lower it towards the floor, so that you place your hand, with the treat, between the dog’s front feet.

•

As the dog lowers his head to get the treat, slowly draw the treat away from the dog to draw the imaginary horizontal leg of an L.

•

If done slowly, the dog should lower his body into a drop position that can then be bridged and reinforced.

•

Reinforce in position and then move away to set the dog up for another trial.

•

Repeat four more times with the food in your hand. Then try without the food in your hand.

Bridge and reinforce from the other hand when job is done.

Lie down – method 3 – Fold back •

With the dog standing, SLOWLY lower the food to the floor. As the dog lowers his head to the floor, slowly move the food back towards the dog’s chest like a reverse L so the dog drops back onto his haunches.

•

When the dog lowers his body to get the food, bridge and reinforce.

•

Repeat four more times with the food in your hand. Then try without the food in your hand.

Bridge and reinforce from the other hand when job is done.

Lie down – method 4 – London Bridge •

Sit on the floor with one leg bent at the knee forming an arch and the other out straight.

•

The dog should be lured down and under the arch. As he goes down to go under to get the lure, bridge and reinforce.

•

If your dog is too big for you to do this, you could use a chair, stool or coffee table.

•

Repeat four more times with the food in your hand. Then try without the food in your hand.

Bridge and reinforce from the other hand when job is done.

Troubleshooting The down position is one that some dogs really do not like, so care must be taken to ensure your dog is not forced. If he doesn’t go down the first time, don’t immediately switch to another method. He may just take a little while to be comfortable with this.

Reinforce those successive approximations – small steps. If he lowers his head, bridge and reinforce, then only bridge and reinforce if his shoulder goes down too and so on until you have a down position. Only after unsuccessfully trying five times a day, for five days do we recommend that you then try one of the other methods.

When all else fails – capture it. He must lie down to sleep sometime. Remember to offer the reinforce in position, preferably from below his chin so he has no need to reach up and break position to gain the reinforce.

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Loose Leash Walking Loose lead walking – Method 1 – Food on the nose We will assume you are walking your dog on your left-hand side.

• With the lead in your right hand, ensure that your left hand contains five treats.

• Allow your dog to smell the treats by placing your left hand immediately in front of his nose.

• Start walking and, as you walk, gradually allow your dog to have a treat from your hand as you walk along. Before releasing a treat for your dog ensure you bridge.

• Walk a few steps, bridge with ‘yes’ and then give your dog one of the treats in your hand while you are still on the move. Try very hard not to drop any treats because you just know your dog will stop to pick them up!

• Repeat four more times. When the hand is empty the training session is over.

• You should be training this at home first with few distractions so when the session has ended just drop or remove the lead until you are ready to start again. This may only be a few seconds after the first attempt. If you are training in the street you can reinforce by running to a tree or grassy patch and allowing the dog to sniff.

• Next time hold the five treats in your hand, move off and bridge and reinforce your dog after an appropriate short distance of good LLW and then just raise your hand, still with treats in it up across your waist.

• Immediately lower your hand again, bridge and then reinforce (if he is still with you).

• Repeat until all the treats are gone.

• Repeat this until the dog is happy to walk near you while your hand is at waist level (still remembering to bridge and then reinforce appropriately).

• Next time you try this, simply place your now empty left hand near the dog’s nose and start walking. However, don’t go too far before your bridge and reinforce your dog (while still on the move) from your treat pouch.

• Hey presto! Your dog has walked quite a distance without the lure but with the promise of good things to come.

• Sadly, if your dog is very close to the ground (i.e. a little dog), this method is much harder on your back!

Loose lead walking – Method 2 – Be a tree • When our dogs are attached to us via a lead, they pull, and we follow.

Guess what – pulling works! Your dog gets to move forward – he is positively reinforced for pulling because you both move forward.

• Tied to a large tree, your dog would perhaps pull for a short time and then give up, realising that his pulling was futile. (We do not recommend you tie your dog to a tree!)

• If we can be more like a tree (i.e. not move if the lead is tight) then our dogs will get the picture – they will stop pulling.

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• Stop every time your dog moves to the end of the lead. Don’t even allow your arm to move forward – really plant your feet and do not move.

• Stand still and wait out your dog. He will eventually look at you as if to say, “Well, c’mon, let’s go!”

• When he does, bridge and reinforce his contact with you and then head off in another direction so that he needs to catch up and be by your side.

• If he again tries to pull, stand still and wait for him to re-engage with you. If he does not reengage with you try the ‘Are you ready?’ game • Reinforce any attempt the dog makes to come back towards you. Present the treat to the dog very close to you – within your prescribed walking area. It brings him where you want him and he gets paid for being in that area AND he gets to continue walking.

Hey presto! Your dog is with you again. Off you go again until your dog moves out of position again.

Don’t wait for the pull. Stop and repeat the steps above.

Troubleshooting If your dog is just not getting it, look to yourself. You may be moving just a little, even just extending your hand to arm’s length, when he pulls and this is reinforcing his pulling. Remember, every step he takes whilst the lead is tight is getting him towards his goal!

It is very important that you maintain a high rate of reinforcement of the dog if he is loose lead walking near you. If he is in the desired position, reinforce him! Behavior that is reinforced will increase.

Do not ask for too much too soon.

You may become frustrated using this method and because of that become inconsistent or give up and move (which reinforces your dog for pulling). If this is the case, then stop training or change to another method.

Stand Your dog can stand all by himself, so why do we teach this exercise? There are times when our dogs unhelpfully try to sit or drop (for example, if the vet is trying to use a rectal thermometer). Teaching dogs to stand on cue is useful for other husbandry purposes like handling and grooming. ‘Stand’ means for the dog to stand still, with all four paws firmly on the ground, and not move until either given another cue or released.

•

During this exercise, it is important that your dog doesn’t take any more steps than required to move into the stand position. Imagine if he was on the vet’s table and took one too many steps forward!

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During initial training, try to not bend or lean over your dog. If you have a small dog, kneel to his level and make sure you do not loom over him. This may make him sit so he can lift his head to look at you without straining his neck.

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Start with your dog in the sit position. Place a treat securely between the index finger and thumb and hold your hand open, fingers out-stretched.

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•

If your dog is in front of you, you can offer the back or palm of your open hand, whichever is most comfortable for you. (Your open hand with outstretched fingers in front of the dog’s nose will become a visual cue for him to stand.)

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Initially, use the hand which is closest to the dog to ensure you deliver the reinforcer once the dog is standing.

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With the treat placed in front of and at the level of the dog’s nose, draw the treat slowly forward horizontally, ensuring that it is kept at the same level as the dog’s nose.

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As soon as the dog reaches the standing position, bridge and stop drawing the food forward.

Reinforce when the dog is on his feet. Always present the reinforcer in such a manner that the dog does not have to move for it and break the stand.

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Gain duration by keeping something he might like in front of the him, such as a couple of treats on which he can slowly nibble. When he has stood for a couple of seconds, bridge, then reinforce and then try again.

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Build the length of time your dog stands by slowly adding further seconds.

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After a few training sessions, and when you think the dog knows what to do, fade the food lure as soon as you can, and rely on your hand signal to cue the dog to stand. Always reinforce after the bridge.

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When you see the dog is beginning to understand that you want him to stand, after a bridge give successive reinforcers while he is standing. If he moves or sits, the food reinforcers stop.

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Add the verbal cue (‘stand’) once the behavior is 80% reliable on the hand cue.

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Work on keeping the dog standing without holding your hand in front of the dog’s face. Your hand signal is a cue and the dog should remain standing once your hand is moved away.

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Never drag your dog up from a sit or drop position.

Troubleshooting Stand •

If the dog sits immediately on bridging and before you have given him the reinforcer, bridge a little earlier (just before the full stand is achieved) and place the food in the lure hand into his mouth. The reinforcer should only be given while the dog is standing.

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If the food is moved too far and too fast, the dog will stand and move forward. Ensure that you move the food just far enough to get the dog to stand up.

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If your dog is not standing, look at where you are holding the treat. Ensure that it is immediately in front of the dog’s nose and that you draw it forward horizontally.

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If the dog is not standing, ensure you are not looming over the dog and that you are standing still. If you move, the dog will want to move with you.

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If the dog moves forward or sits when you remove your cueing hand, do more training. The dog does not yet understand what you want.

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If the dog moves after verbally cueing the stand, do not repeat the verbal cue to get him to stand. Go back to training the verbal cue with the hand cue as he does not yet understand the concept.

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Recall Recall – Method 1 •

Loose lead walk your dog to a position, say his name and he will look at you (because you have already conditioned his name to mean something good is going to happen). Run a couple of steps away from your dog and he should run towards you.

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When he is running towards you add your chosen cue word (‘come’ or ‘here’), then bridge and reinforce.

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Gradually increase the distance of your recall with the dog on the lead.

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At home, in a safe environment practice the steps listed above both on and off the lead.

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It’s up to you whether or not your dog sits when he comes to you, but we think it is great if this is a choice your dog can make for himself.

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When he comes to you practice taking his collar in your hand (see below). By taking the dog’s collar every time he comes to you he will not know which time the lead may go back on and he heads off home.

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When your dog is in front of you, reach for his collar, tell him how wonderful he is and then let him go play again. What a great reinforcer!

Recall – Method 2 If you have followed the instructions for method 1, you will have a dog who will turn to look at you when you address him by name and will run towards you when you cue him. For method 2, it is preferable (but not essential) to have your dog off the lead in a confined area (After all, if he won’t come back to you from a metre he certainly will not do it over 50!) Try to eliminate as many distractions as you can.

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Initially, gain your dog’s attention. Cue him as he moves towards you, so he associates the cue with the action. It may help to be playing with him when doing this. Running away from him will also encourage him to come towards you.

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Next, call your dog to you from a short distance (a few metres) and when he comes to you, praise and reinforce him. Ensure you also take his collar.

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When he is performing at least 80% of the time, then increase the degree of difficulty.

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Have your dog on a long line in public. Let him sniff and run around and regularly call him to you throughout your walk. When he comes, praise and reinforce him, handle his collar, and let him go again. Repeat this often. The dog will learn that coming back is no big deal. He gets something valuable, and then he can do his own thing again and he won’t think “Oh, no! On the lead – that means the end of fun!”

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Ensure that his recall is at least 80% reliable on a long lead in highly distracting situations before you progress to off-lead work in a public place in areas of low distraction.

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When you commence off lead training in public, ensure it is in a secure place that you are legally allowed to have a dog off lead, away from roads and other dangerous areas. Once again, regularly call the dog to you, handle his collar, clip on the lead, unclip the lead, praise, reinforce and release the dog. Practice this several times before you finally clip on the lead to go home.

Gradually increase the distance and distraction as described above.

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•

In a highly distracting environment, when your dog comes back to you unexpectedly against the odds, give him an extra-large reinforcement or jackpot to let him know he made the right choice and it is worthwhile to come back to you.

Troubleshooting Method 2 •

Never call your dog multiple times, particularly if he is ignoring you. It is unrealistic to expect an untrained dog to leave something of great interest to him and return to you. If in doubt, it is better to collect him instead, rather than teach him to ignore your cue. Try to limit the opportunities he has to do this, so you can limit the times you collect him. Some dogs will associate you with ending their fun and try to avoid you.

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Dogs don't see stationary objects very well, particularly in poor light. Move your arms when you call your dog over a great distance so he can see where you are. Clap your hands and run away from your dog.

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If the behavior is breaking down, decrease at least one degree of difficulty until the problem is resolved. Ensure that you are reinforcing each successful attempt and use high value reinforcement. Revisit all the preliminaries mentioned above, to ensure you are not overlooking any of the key foundations and ground rules.

•

A common mistake people make in public is letting the dog off lead and only putting the dog back on lead when they are ready to go home. The dog soon learns to stay away, because when he comes back the fun stops and he goes home. Some dogs also learn to dodge the hand that extends towards their collar.

Stay/Wait When you ask your dog to ‘stay’ or ‘wait’ (depending on what cue you use) he is expected to stay in that position until you either give a release cue or ask him to perform another behavior.

It is important that you do have a release cue (e.g. ‘OK’ or ‘Free’) or ask your dog to do something else, such as come, as the dog cannot be expected to work out how long to remain in position on his own. Duration should be slowly built before trying to put any distance into the stay.

As recommended for training all new behaviors, use the system of five repetitions per set to build the behavior and measure progress: •

if five out of five is correct, increase the criteria

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if three to four out of five is correct, remain at the same level

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if two or less out of five is correct, drop to the previous level or go back to basics.

To gain duration – ‘Pay the stay’ The pre-requisites for the sit-, drop- and stand-stay are that the dog sits, drops or stands on cue.

There is no point in teaching stay, until the dog responds to the original cue.

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At home, work in a non-distracting environment. Once the dog sits on cue, gradually withhold the bridge to increase duration.

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Prepare by having five pieces of food in your hand. Put the lead under your foot and ask the dog to sit (or drop or stand).

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Pay the five pieces of food one after the other to the dog. If he stays in place, then release him with a “good dog” but don’t pay the release. We want the important part of the stay to be the staying – not having a party at the end.

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When your dog is reliable on this, start to count one second between each piece of food. A good way to do that is to count ‘one banana, two banana’; the word ‘banana’ is a good approximation of one second.

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Your five pieces of food are now lasting for five seconds; you have five seconds of stay. When your dog is fluent with this, count two seconds in between each piece of food and gradually build up the time between the pieces of food.

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Always release your dog at the end of each five pieces of food and don’t use food to reinforce the end. Verbal praise is fine.

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Once your five pieces of food are lasting for a full minute, reduce your food to four pieces of food for a minute and so on, until you are down to one piece of food somewhere in that minute but not at the end! Remember, we are reinforcing the stay itself, not the finish.

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You can add the verbal cue once you know the dog will stay for at least 30 seconds.

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Say the verbal cue and then proceed as above. If your dog breaks the stay, you have added your cue too early.

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Don’t nag the verbal cue. You don’t want to spend your life walking backwards saying “stay, stay, stay”.

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Using the system of fives, build to 60 seconds before moving on to distance.

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Remember the stay is the important part of this exercise, not the finish. End the stay in a lowkey fashion. We want the dog to want to stay, rather than look forward to the end of the exercise.

Troubleshooting duration •

If the dog sits and gets up immediately, he has not yet learned to sit on cue. Check that you are bridging as the dog sits, not as the dog is getting up.

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If the dog moves, you are increasing the criteria too fast for the dog.

Wait to be fed Many guardians have their dogs sit before they give them their dinner, which is a good self-control exercise. However, this is usually done with the dog’s dinner bowl, at dinner time and in the same spot. As dogs do not generalise well, we need to teach our dogs to wait for any bowl that is put down in front of them, anytime and anywhere. Using a Stay/wait and then giving permission for the dog to take the food is a great way for the dog to learn this.

Your dog must get used to your hands being around his bowl and not feel threatened by that action, so we also want guardians to be able to drop some high value food into the dog’s bowl while he is eating.

It isn’t essential that the dog sit, he could stand or drop, as long as he does not lunge for the bowl as it is being put to the floor. Let your dog choose whether he sits, stands or drops.

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When practicing this exercise in class, your instructor will be observing you and your dog to ensure that there are no obvious signs of resource guarding mentioned earlier in the guide.

Wait at entrance – door/gate etiquette It used to be said that it was necessary for a guardian to go through doors before their dogs to assert their dominance. Today that is outmoded thinking. However, we may have our arms full of groceries, or we might have Great Aunt Nelly with us and we want to ensure a safe passage for ourselves through the door without Fido tripping us up. Here are two methods for achieving this.

Method 1 Practice with a door or gate that closes towards you. For this example, we will use a door inside your house. Obviously, you would not try this outside with a gate as the dog could easily escape and get hurt.

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With your dog beside you, stand near a closed but not latched door. Ensure that you can push open the door when you need to.

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Place your hand on the door as if to open the door. Bridge and reinforce if your dog does not try to go through the door as you open it.

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If your dog tries to push through, close the door so that it makes a little noise.

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Do not hit the dog with the door! We don’t want him to be frightened.

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Open the door a fraction and gradually increase how much you open the door until the door is completely open and your dog is still by your side.

At this stage, you can go through the door and call your dog to follow you through: •

Or you can go through together

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Or you can ask the dog to go through and you can follow

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It doesn’t matter who goes first

We choose not to add a cue to your dog’s waiting at the door because this method will teach automatic good manners. The door itself becomes a cue for the dog to stay by your side Method 2 This method requires that your dog has learned how to stay/wait.

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Approach the door and simply ask your dog to sit, down or stand and then stay before opening the door.

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Then either release your dog from his stay, send him on ahead of you or call him through the door to you.

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Handling and massage Training a dog to accept being handled and groomed, and to tolerate a veterinary examination will ensure a lifetime free of anxiety and stress in so many situations for both of you. It is important that your dog stand/sit/lie still for short periods of time and let you handle him all over.

Introduce training at a time/place when the dog is calm and relaxed (after dinner on your lap is a good time to start, or sit on the floor with your dog). The training environment must be quiet, calm and conducive to relaxation for both you and the dog. It helps to build and to maintain a bond between you and your dog.

Begin to gently stroke the dog once he is comfortable.

Reinforce quiet behavior with praise, treats and/or more doggy massage with long gentle strokes, if your dog is enjoying it. Think aromatherapy and candles, not sports massage. This should be a pleasant experience for both you and the dog. Build the dog’s confidence and trust slowly in a relaxed atmosphere. Talk to your dog (use quiet, long slow soothing words).

Training class is not always the best place to teach this because of all the distractions. It is best taught at home in a peaceful, quiet environment.

In class, we will teach you to handle your dog for a general veterinary type examination (eyes, ears, tail, tummy, feet, bottom etc) so you can remove grass seeds from your dog’s coat and paws and generally be able to handle your dog for grooming.

When NOT to massage your dog •

If your dog has a fever, infection or sores, or a very recent injury (less than five days).

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If you are not in the right mindset to give your dog your undivided attention.

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If your dog has just had surgery, has a heart condition or is on blood thinning medication.

If in doubt, don’t.

Things to bear in mind •

All parts of your dog’s body need to be handled; some he will like more than others.

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Never force the dog if he is uncomfortable or use force to restrain him. Try to figure out why your dog is not co-operating (are you handling a sore spot?)

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Some dogs will not relax straight away. Be patient, it is new for you and your dog

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Not all dogs like to be massaged. Some have a ticklish spot and some have a ‘shy’ area where they do not like to be touched.

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If the dog has an injury he may shy away.

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Massage your dog in a safe, warm place away from distractions. This is a time for just you and your dog

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Make it a calm game.

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If your dog suddenly tenses or even lifts his head and looks around at you, pay attention as he is trying to tell you something.

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Emergency stop Having a reliable recall is a great advantage and can be a lifesaver. But what if your dog is on the opposite side of the road (not that this would be planned) and is about to cross when a truck is coming? The ability to stop on cue might also save your dog.

Initially with this exercise you will teach your dog to stop while he is very close to you. You will gradually increase the distance between you and still have an effective stop cue.

This YouTube link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ys2OMoJVMM demonstrates what we describe below.

There are several ways of teaching this exercise and your instructors may give you some added information and slightly different variations. There is always more than one way to teach a behavior (we advocate for those ways that are devoid of pain, force or fear).

You will be taught this exercise in class which is a very distracting environment. When you practice at home, choose a quiet place with no distractions.

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Walk slowly with your dog. Have your treats in a pocket or in your treat pouch. Simply stop and if your dog stops bridge and reinforce. Your dog does not have to sit (although if he does that is fine). The important thing is that he stops and stops as quickly as possible. Do not add a verbal cue to this yet.

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In the video, Louise suggests that you practice doing this at least three times a day for a week.

Don’t rush the criteria, this behavior is too important.

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When your dog is stopping when you stop, then try moving a little faster until your dog is responding to the stop. Then try asking him to stop from any direction.

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When your dog is stopping in any direction it is time to add the cue (‘Stop’ or whatever word you are likely to shout in an emergency). As your dog stops (and remember you are still stopping with him at this stage) you add your verbal cue.

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This exercise is extended by increasing distance and speed. Have your dog run towards you and ask him to stop, or have him run away from you and ask him to stop.

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Build each criterion slowly to achieve a good result.

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This is an important behavior that you want rock-solid in your dog, so pay well and use high quality reinforcers.

Troubleshooting It may be difficult for your dog to concentrate on stopping when he is first faced with distractions. A small jump as you stop may bring his attention back to you. If you do this, you will also need to fade it – it will have no effect if your dog is 100metres from you. It is a tool only.

Leave It A solid ‘Leave it’ could save your dog’s life! (Leave the snake, leave the Ratsack etc.).

First you must condition the cue word you have chosen for this behavior. “Leave It” is a sensible cue to use as that is what you are asking your dog to do (leave whatever it is that he was about to touch/take/eat/steal etc.) and what you would probably shout in an emergency. To condition the cue word:

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•

Have five small pieces of very tasty food in your hand. Give your cue word quietly (it is not “leave it or I will punch your lights out!”) and then give the dog the food. Repeat four more times.

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Don’t wave the food in front of the dog’s nose and say “leave it”, simply hold the food in one hand down by your side or in your lap, say the words and pay the food.

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It sounds crazy to ask the dog to leave it and then give the dog the food, but we are teaching the dog that the words “Leave it” mean that they are going to get something really yummy. This is respondent (classical) conditioning.

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Now have a small, inanimate, uninteresting object in one hand (a pen or a nail file) and five pieces of food in the other hand.

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Show the dog the inanimate object. When he goes to sniff it, say “Leave it” once and as his nose moves away from the object, give him one of the pieces of food you have in your hand near to his nose.

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Repeat until all the food is gone. You will find that the dog will quickly show very little, if any, interest in the inanimate object and be turning his head for the food before you get out the cue word. This is the time to move on to the next step.

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Repeat the step above but instead of having the food in your other hand, have it nearby or in your treat pouch. Ask the dog to leave the object; bridge and reinforce if he does so.

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Once your dog can do this successfully with several different inanimate objects you can move on to the next step.

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This time use low value food reinforcers (like your dog’s normal dry food) in one hand and roast chicken in the other. The same principles apply. Ask him to leave the dry food to have the chicken.

Being alone This exercise is about your dog being away from you. Please ensure that you take this exercise very slowly and have someone watch your dog to ensure his stress levels do not become excessive.

This is not a stay exercise. If you walk away from your dog and you cannot be there to ensure he does stay, then you are setting up for failure by asking for a stay. For this exercise your cue word should be something like ‘back soon’ or ‘see you soon’ or similar.

This cue will come to mean that you won’t be gone for long and the dog has little to fear from you going away from him. For this to happen, it is mandatory, particularly while your dog is learning this behavior, that nothing bad does happen to him. The best way of ensuring this is to have someone watching at all times.

We are aiming for low-key departures and low-key arrivals. The big goodbyes and over-the-top “Hi puppy, we are home!” behaviors in humans, although understandable, can lead to separation anxiety in some dogs. This exercise seeks to assure your dog that if you say you will be back soon, you will be, and that is a promise.

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Think about a suitable location in which this exercise can be practiced. Initially you will need to just duck around a corner or behind a building or a large tree so that you can come straight back. Have a person hold your dog’s lead and arm them with lots of yummy treats to use during your absence.

These treats are given to the dog when he is sitting, standing or in the down position and not pulling to get to you once you are out of sight.

• In a happy voice tell your dog “back soon” and disappear around the corner. Come straight back and bridge and reinforce your dog.

• Repeat four more times.

• When the person reports to you that your dog was fine with your brief disappearance, you can start to stay away a little longer.

• Build this behavior in sets of five and gradually add distance and duration to your absence.

• Remember, this is not a stay exercise, it is simply you disappearing for a short time Note: we do not recommend that you tie your dog up outside a shop and leave him alone while you go inside and cannot see him. Leaving a dog unattended for any length of time can result in the dog’s arousal levels becoming high (often from anxiety) and this in turn could result in the dog injuring himself in an attempt to escape or injuring someone else who may approach him.

Also, if you cannot see him you do not know what is happening to him. Children (or adults) may poke or tease him, he could be intimidated by another dog or his lead may become entangled. You do not want your dog to have a scary experience and you do not want your dog to hurt a person because of it.

Tricks Emily Larlham of Kikopup fame has many trick training videos that will demonstrate how to train tricks. https://www.youtube.com/user/kikopup

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Section One Checklist: Knowledge Base Assessment Quiz Please ensure you use the checklist below to include everything that is necessary for your Knowledge Base Assessment Have you: □

Undertaken the online Knowledge Base Assessment Quiz?

Section Two Checklist: Basic Skills Videos Please ensure you use the checklist below to include everything that is necessary for assessment of your video submissions Have you: □ □ Have you: □

□ □ Have you: □ Have you: □

adhered to force-free training methods (as defined earlier in this document)? considered the physical and emotional wellbeing of your demonstrator dog(s)?

correctly formatted the film clips (defined in the section Submission Format)? □ they must be audible □ they must be in clear focus □ you must be visible and identifiable during the film clip adhered to the recommended timeframes for each film clip appropriately titled each film clip?

filmed your videos in at least two different places where requested

filmed the correct number of behaviors required for your credential 3 for Juniors/5 for Seniors/the remaining 5 for XX Hons

Section Three Checklist: Conditioned Emotional Response Video Have you: □ explained what a conditioned emotional response is?

□ □ □ □ □ □

explained how to achieve it? demonstrated how you achieve a CER? shown the baseline behavior of the dog before training this CER? shown segments of your training along the way to your achieved goal shown the outcome of your training shown that you are always aware of the dog’s body language and endeavoured to attend to any stress signs you have seen

Further Reading for Interest • •

How to socialize your puppy by Karen Pryor Position Statement on Puppy Socialization from The Pet Professional Guild Copyright 2018 The Pet Professional Accreditation Board. June 2018

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• • • • • • •

Humane Society of the United States, barking causes Nuisance Barking by Victoria Stilwell Positively The Canine Five Senses Explained o https://uk.animalblog.co/2015/07/29/the-canine-five-senses-explained-2/ Crate Training by Victoria Stilwell Positively How to Greet Dogs by Debbie Jacobs Growling at Kids by Doggone Safe

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APPENDIX A Please Note that questions in your Provisional Apprentice Knowledge Base Assessment may come from the information below.

Knowledge Base Assessment Information Provisional Junior Basic Canine Body Language All questions regarding canine body language for your Knowledge Base Assessment will be taken from A Kids’ Comprehensive Guide to Speaking Dog – Niki Tudge You will receive this book as a download when you have successfully passed Gatekeeper Two.

Canine Needs Exercise Dogs have primary needs of food, water and shelter. They also have secondary needs of social contact, mental stimulation and physical exercise. Going for a daily walk with your dog has the advantage of meeting his secondary needs all at once.

A daily walk also helps to develop the bond with you, his Guardian. A walk gives your dog the opportunity to socialize with others and to use his brain to interpret the smells in the environment outside his home.

Every dog is different regarding the ideal length and intensity of his exercise requirements. You must know your own dog’s specific exercise needs to adequately meet them. Considerations may be the age and size of your dog, current fitness level and breed, e.g. brachycephalic dogs (shortnosed breeds like bulldogs and pugs) can often overheat more quickly. Discuss your dog’s specific exercise needs with your vet and happy walking!

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Socialization Socialization is “a special learning process whereby an individual dog learns to accept the closeness of other dogs, as well as members of other species.”

(Australian Veterinary Association: Puppy Socialization Statement). It also includes everything your dog is likely to encounter in your world.

Appropriately socializing your puppy from 8 to 12 weeks is very important because unwanted behavior issues can develop at an early age. It is not possible to ‘un-teach’ behavior. Even if it seems to disappear, it will remain in the dog’s repertoire for life, so it is better to teach your dog what you want in the first instance. Hopefully your dog’s breeder has done the work required during the first eight weeks of the puppy’s life. Do not forget though that ongoing socialization for life is also very important.

There is always a small health risk associated with taking your puppy out in public before the entire course of vaccinations is completed.

Not socializing your puppy early, however, carries a greater risk of surrender or euthanasia for behavior reasons when older.

Attending a suitable and well-managed puppy class in a sanitized area will give your puppy the best start in life. Organize a ‘puppy party’ with friends and family in a safe environment to start exposing your puppy to everything he will have to deal with as he grows: different people including children, other dogs and animals, different sounds and music, different surfaces and objects. Never force your puppy to deal with anything he is frightened of, instead allow him to ‘advance and retreat’ in his own time, rewarding with treats as he becomes braver.

Barking Barking is a natural canine behavior and can occur for a range of reasons, including excitement, frustration, boredom, play, seeking attention and alarm. The types of bark will differ, and you will get to know what each one means if you listen carefully. If you wish to stop your dog barking, do not yell at him as he will think that you are ‘joining in’ and you are all barking together. Instead make a noise that will attract/distract him (a hand clap is a good idea) and give him a treat as soon as he is quiet. Alternatively, you could thank him for his watchdog activities (i.e. “job’s done, good boy”), call him to you and then reward the quiet time. In both instances, follow up with a chew or a toy so he is not inclined to return to his barking.

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Common causes of barking “Attention/Demand: Your dog may want to eat, go outside, or your undivided attention.

Boredom/Frustration: Your dog may have been left outside day and night or confined to one room for a long period of time.

Fear: Your dog may be afraid of objects, people, places, other animals, or loud noises such as thunder and fireworks.

Tip: Your dog's posture can tell you if he's barking out of fear. Typically, his ears are back, and his tail is held low.

Territoriality/Protectiveness: Your dog is barking in the presence of "intruders," which may include people and other dogs in adjacent yards.

• Tip: If your dog is being territorial, his posture appears threatening with his tail held high and his ears up and forward.

Playfulness/Excitement: Your dog may be overly playful and excited when greeting people.

Health Issues: Your dog may have Canine Cognitive Dysfunction or deafness, causing him to bark because he's unable to hear himself bark.” www.humanesociety.org/animals/dogs/tips/barking_causes.html

Senses Dogs view the world in a very different way than humans do. While humans rely heavily on their sense of sight to function in the everyday world, dogs rely heavily on their sense of smell and their sense of hearing to interpret the human world in which they live. While their sense of sight is still important, it is not as good as a human’s (except for sight hounds) and will often be used to back up what they smell and hear rather than being used as a primary sense for gathering information. It has been said that if the scent receptors of a dog’s nose were all spread out, they would amount to the size of a handkerchief, compared to the size of a postage stamp for a human. This explains why using attractive smelling treats and scenting exercises can be useful when training our companions.

Training Crate training It is a good idea to introduce your puppy to a dog crate at a very young age, not only for toilet training but also to prevent chewing and to encourage calm behavior. Dogs like to have a safe place of their own and a crate is ideal if it is trained positively early on. A crate is ideal for managing a new puppy around children as well, particularly when puppy is going through his teething stage.

Humans greeting dogs All questions regarding people greeting dogs will come from Section 2 of A Kids’ Comprehensive Guide to Speaking Dog!

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Dog – dog play Not all humans want to go out to dinner with everyone they meet, and it is no different in the dog world.

If a dog has not been well socialized or has had a bad experience, he may find other dogs threatening and may even want to avoid them altogether. Allowing your dog to make his own choices is very important in preventing conflict and ensuring your dog is not put in a situation he can’t handle. Dogs should not be forced to play with other dogs and socialization at a distance may be more suitable for some dogs.

Dogs have different play styles and a boisterous dog may overwhelm a calm dog. Recent studies have shown that dogs are more likely to choose one play friend and may even resent another dog interrupting their play. Good dog play would include a ‘play bow’ (front paws leaning on the ground and the bottom up in the air) by at least one dog. The dogs should take turns to lead and chase and have frequent rest breaks.

Growling Although dogs often get into trouble for growling, it is actually good information that the dog is uncomfortable for some reason. If you reprimand your dog for growling, next time he may escalate to biting to get his message across. If your dog growls at you, another person or dog, simply remove him from the situation and make a note of the cause. You should contact a behavior specialist if the growling occurs frequently.

Suggested Reading List for Provisional Junior Basic •

A Kid’s Comprehensive Guide to Speaking Dog

APPENDIX B Please Note that questions in your Provisional Apprentice Knowledge Base Assessment may come from the information below.

Knowledge Base Assessment Information Provisional Junior Advanced Distance Increasing Signals and Distance Decreasing Signals Please see the information in A Kids’ Comprehensive Guide to Speaking Dog! and Canine Body Language Positively Victoria Stillwell https://positively.com/dog-training/understandingdogs/canine-body-language

Displacement Behaviors Please see the information in A Kids’ Comprehensive Guide to Speaking Dog! and Canine Body Language Positively Victoria Stillwell https://positively.com/dog-training/understandingdogs/canine-body-language

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Appeasement Signals Please see the information in A Kids’ Comprehensive Guide to Speaking Dog! and Canine Body Language Positively Victoria Stillwell https://positively.com/dog-training/understandingdogs/canine-body-language

Signs That a Bite May Happen – Doggone Safe If the signs listed below occur, stop all interaction with the dog, look away and give the dog the opportunity to leave. Do not approach, do not make eye contact, do not talk to the dog. If you are touching the dog, stop and move your hands away slowly. If you are taking something from the dog, let go of it. It is better for him to keep it than for you or a child to get bitten. If you are bending over the dog, slowly straighten up and look away.

Signs are • • •

The dog freezes - becomes suddenly stiff The dog stands with front legs splayed, head low, looking at you The dog curls lip to show teeth

A good guide for children is that if the dog is all soft and wiggly, then he is not likely to bite. If a dog is stiff like a statue then he is dangerous.

Teach children never to take from a dog and if a dog steals from them to let the dog have it. They should ask an adult to get the item back. Trade the item for a treat or another appropriate toy, or just let him keep it. https://doggonesafe.com/Signs_of_Imminent_Bite

Piloerection See https://thebark.com/content/piloerection

Breed Differences Over the last 150 to 200 years, different breeds of dogs have been used for different functions. For example, terriers were bred to hunt and kill vermin and herding dogs (such as Border Collies and Kelpies) were bred to herd cattle and other livestock. Others, such as Pugs and Cavalier King Charles Spaniels were bred specifically for companionship.

As a result, different breeds of dogs will often behave differently to one another. It is always a good idea to research what your dog was originally bred for so that some of his behaviors will not be such a surprise to you. It also allows you to assess whether a certain breed is suitable to your environment. It might be unrealistic to expect your working dog breed to want to lie around with

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you at home during the day or to ask your companion dog to help you round up the sheep.

Although both may be possible, it could be a difficult task.

There are, of course, individual characteristics to take into consideration as well as differences in breed. There can be as many differences (if not more) between individual dogs of the same breed as there are differences between breeds. No two dogs will behave the same, even though they may have the same genetic make-up; just as no two children from the same family are exactly alike.

Environmental Enrichment – Louise Ginman, Pet Professional Guild Australia Download the .pdf file from your member area

Responsible Pet Guardianship Pets are understood to be animals that provide companionship to humans. Such animals as dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, ferrets, rats, mice and fish are just some of them.

At PPG we prefer to call pet owners, pet guardians as the role of a guardian is to protect and care for someone or something. As pet guardians, it is our duty to protect and care for our pets. The laws in many countries state that the guardian (usually called owner in the law) is responsible for the ongoing care and welfare of any animal under their guardianship, management or control. The guardian is also responsible for any adverse actions taken by the pet.

With regards to responsible pet ownership, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Australia) states the following: “Responsible ownership involves the following general principles: • planning for an animal suitable to the owner’s lifestyle and budget and capacity to properly care for and manage the chosen animal throughout its life • understanding and meeting the physiological, behavioral and social needs of the chosen animal • undertaking appropriate husbandry practices relating to the feeding, exercising, grooming, housing, containment and care of the animal • following a preventative health care program (e.g. correctly vaccinating the animal) • ensuring veterinary care is provided when necessary • preventing unwanted/unplanned pregnancies through desexing or other safe suitable methods o desexing refers to surgical or chemical neutering of the animal o Other safe methods may include ensuring males and females are kept separate during fertile times • ensuring appropriate and reliable identification of the animal • training and socialisation of the animal to ensure the development of appropriate behavior.” http://kb.rspca.org.au/rspca-policy-a01-responsible-companion-animal-ownership_589.html

Adherence to Local Rules and Regulations •

Knowing and complying with dog-related laws and regulations in your area is an important part of being a responsible dog guardian. In your area, there may be legal requirements relating to such things as:

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• • • •

Your dog being on a leash unless in a designated off-leash area.

Your dog being identified by a tag showing his name and your contact information.

What public places your dog can or cannot visit.

Picking up your dog’s feces.

As a responsible pet owner, take the time to research your local laws and regulations as they relate to you and your dog.

As a responsible pet guardian, you should also be able to answer the questions below, as they relate to your pet in the area in which you live. There are many different rules and regulations all around the world.

• At what age must a guardian register his dog?

• How often must a guardian register his dog?

• At what age can a person legally own a dog in your area?

• Having just moved to a new house, does a guardian need to re-register her dog with the relevant new jurisdiction?

• What are the guardian’s obligations regarding disposal of a dog’s feces in a public place?

• Is it an offence for a dog to defecate in a public place?

• Must a dog always be on leash in a public place?

• What is the maximum leash length for streets, roads and public places?

• How many dogs may be kept in residential premises without permission from the relevant jurisdiction?

• Within the local jurisdiction is it compulsory to neuter/spay a dog?

• Are there penalties for dogs wandering at large?

• Are there any areas where dogs are prohibited?

• Does the local jurisdiction offer any rebates on dog registration (e.g. a discount for a desexed dog)?

• It is often said that a dog must be under “effective control” whilst off leash. What is “effective control” as dictated by the local jurisdiction?

• Does a dog have to be restrained when in a motor vehicle?

For more information, check your local jurisdiction laws and regulations.

Training Generalization Learn about generalization by reading this informative blog by Emily Larlham https://dogmantics.com/generalizing/

Luring Victoria Stillwell says that lure-reward training is “a highly effective way to teach your dog new behaviors. It is easy and fun for both dog and human and dogs can learn new behaviors quite quickly with this training” https://positively.com/dog-training/methods-equipment/training.../lure-rewardtraining/

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A lure is not a bribe! It is the food or valued reinforcer you use to guide your dog into a position you require of him. Lures move the dog into position, and the motion can eventually be changed to a hand signal.

With very few repetitions you will find that, if correctly lured, bridged and reinforced, your dog will not need food present in your hand to perform the behavior. You will be able to use your hand signal and treat your dog from the other hand or from your treat pouch.

The lure only becomes a bribe if you use it for too long. Check below for information about fading the food.

Never lure after a cue Occasionally, after your dog has learned to perform a behavior on cue, he will decide that he won’t respond to your cue. This can happen for several reasons: •

The behavior has not been taught correctly to start with.

•

The verbal cue was added too soon (i.e. before the dog really understood the full behavior you wanted).

•

The behavior has lost importance to the dog because it has not been reinforced sufficiently.

Irrespective of the reason for the non-response to a cue, it is important that you do not lure a dog into the behavior if you have already cued him.

If, having cued your dog to sit, he does not sit, and you then get out a piece of food to lure him into a sit, it won’t take long for your dog to realize that this is a great way to get food. He will have trained you very well to produce the food! If you cue your dog to do something and he does not do it, finish the training and then start again in a short while.

If your dog continues to be non-compliant, go back to basics. Remember, dogs do what works for them, so it is up to you to ensure that you train in such a way that it is worth it to your dog. And, no, your dog isn’t being stubborn or hard to get on with, he probably just doesn’t really understand what it is you want him to do, or it just isn’t worth his while.

Canine Behavioral School Inc Train at Home Guide 2018

Let’s use the example of using a lure to ask the dog to sit. It will go something like this: Ensure you have your dog’s attention. Without saying anything and keeping your body movements to a minimum: •

Move your hand containing a treat towards the dog’s nose and up over his head between the ears. Move your hand slowly enough for the dog’s nose to follow, but not so slowly that the dog gives up. Hold the treat so the dog lifts his head up, but not so high he jumps up for it.

•

As the head lifts, his spine begins to slope backwards and, if the treat is in the correct position, the dog will bend the back legs and sit. The instant the rear end hits the ground, bridge, and reinforce the dog.

•

You can reinforce the dog with the food lure you used or preferably use a different treat and use the lure treat again for the next trial. If possible treat the dog from above to keep the dog in the sit position.

•

Reset the dog for another trial.

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•

Repeat five times. Try luring without any treat in your hand, but make sure you can quickly get the treat and reinforce the dog from above so his head remains up with his bottom on the ground.

•

Do not get out a treat while the dog is in the process of sitting as it will cause the dog to focus more on the treats than on you.

•

The movement of your hand with the food as a lure becomes your sit hand signal. As dogs are generally more responsive to visual signals than verbal ones, this is a good habit to get into.

Troubleshooting the Sit •

If your dog jumps up to grab the food, you are holding the food too high. Bring it closer to his nose and then slowly over the top of his head.

•

If your dog is turning to get the food rather than sitting, you are probably taking the food too quickly over the top of his head. Go more slowly.

•

If your dog keeps walking backwards with his head up looking at the treat in your hand, practice this near a wall so the dog has his back to the wall and cannot back up any further.

Canine Behavioral School Inc Train at Home Guide 2018

Adding Cues Hand signals As dogs are far more visual in their communication than they are verbal, the use of clear hand signals will greatly assist your training and help your dog to better understand exactly what you want from him.

You can turn the luring motion you use to get an initial behavior into a hand signal. For example, when you fade the food lure for a sit, the upward motion of the lure becomes the hand signal for the dog to sit. The downward movement of your hand that lured your dog into the drop position likewise becomes a drop signal.

Verbal cues You can use any word you like as a cue but do not use the same word cue for different behaviors.

For example, do not use the word ‘down’ for the dog to lie down on the mat as well as ‘down’ meaning get down off the furniture. The dog does not know or understand the difference. You could perhaps use ‘down’ to get off the furniture and ‘drop’ for lying on the mat.

It is easier for the dog if you restrict your cues to one syllable words but think about what words you use. To us, ‘stop’, ‘stay’ and ‘stand’ are three different words with three different meanings. To our dogs, who may only listen to the first part of the cue (the ‘st’ sound), these cues may be confusing, particularly in the early stages of training. Perhaps you could use ‘halt’ instead of ‘stop’ and ‘wait’ instead of ‘stay’.

Adding the verbal cue - new cue/old cue Expecting your dog to respond to verbal cues he hasn’t yet learned is a very inefficient, hit-and-miss way to teach. Get the behavior happening first and then introduce your cues once the behavior is 80% reliable so the dog makes the right connection.

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Dogs don’t come pre-programmed to speak English. If you tell your new puppy to ‘sit’, he has no idea what that funny noise you are making means. Instead, say the word ‘sit’ (new cue) and then give the dog the sit hand signal (old cue). Bridge and reinforce the correct behavior and repeat four more times. Then just try using the verbal cue ‘sit’ and see what happens. If your dog sits, bridge and reinforce. If he doesn’t, don’t nag! End the training session and then begin another session a short time later and go back to basics i.e. say ‘sit’ and then give the hand signal five more times.

Then see what happens. This is the ‘train/test/train’ method of checking if your dog understands what you are asking of him.

Canine Behavioral School Inc Train at Home Guide 2018

Targeting Targeting is a great tool to have in your tool kit. It can be used to teach dogs to • walk on a leash by your side • ask to go outside • fetch and pick up objects • ring bells • go in and out of crates.

• open doors • turn on and off light switches Targeting can also be used for • dog sports • a dog finding a place or going to a place • locating a place away from you • moving a dog around • a return on recall • any behavior where you can have them touch or target to manipulate or move them The mechanics of targeting • Hold your hand out just in front of the dog’s nose • If the dog looks at your hand, sniffs your hand or touches your hand Click/Treat • Do this lots of times until your dog is actively touching your hand with his nose o Do not move your hand towards your dog’s nose. Your dog must consciously touch your hand.

• If you click at the right point, at the time of the exact touch, your dog will soon be targeting your hand Make sure you are consistent • Keep your hand in the same location at the same distance from your dog.

• If you have to move your hand when you present it, make sure you place it back in the same position • This is sometimes easier to do when you are sitting in a chair with your dog just in front of you DogNostics Career Center What can you do if your dog does not show any interest in your hand?

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•

If the dog is initially hesitant to touch the hand, bridge and reinforce for looking at the hand, and then build to movement towards the hand. As the dog becomes more confident, withhold the bridge until the dog is touching the hand.

•

If the dog ignores the presented hand, remove the hand and revert to the previous level of competence then present the hand again.

Suggested Reading/Viewing List for Provisional Junior Advanced • • • • •

Notes above for Provisional Junior Advanced candidates Canine Body Language. Positively Victoria Stillwell https://positively.com/dogtraining/understanding-dogs/canine-body-language Signs of an imminent bite https://doggonesafe.com/Signs_of_Imminent_Bite Piloerection https://thebark.com/content/piloerection Eileen and Dogs https://eileenanddogs.com/dog-body-language/

Copyright 2018 The Pet Professional Accreditation Board. June 2018