Diabetes in Dogs

Diabetes Mellitus Without Complication in Dogs

Diabetes mellitus is a diseased state by which the body suffers from either an absolute shortage of insulin (Type I), or from an incorrect response from the cells to the insulin that is being produced, a condition termed insulin resistance (Type II). Both of these conditions will prevent the muscles and organs from converting glucose to energy, and will result in excessive amounts of glucose in the blood, which is also referred to as hyperglycemia.

Diabetes is a disorder of carbohydrate, protein, and fat metabolism caused by an absolute or relative insulin deficiency. Metabolism refers to how the body digests and uses food for growth and energy, and this process is largely dependent on a sufficient amount of insulin in the body.

Insulin is a hormone that is produced in the pancreas, releasing into the cells in response to the digestive conversion of proteins into glucose in the bloodstream. Much of the food that is ingested is broken down into glucose, a type of sugar in the blood and one of the body's main sources of energy. Appropriate insulin function will trigger the liver and muscles to take up glucose from the blood cells, converting it to energy.

Diabetes, a common condition for humans, is also relatively common in domestic animals like dogs. Type I diabetes is the more severe form of the disease, as it is dependent on daily insulin injections for maintaining blood sugar balance (insulin dependent diabetes mellitus – IDDM).

An affected dog will be hungry a lot of the time, since glucose is not making it to the brain; glucose levels in the brain are too low for the brain to register that it is receiving food. Because insulin is not giving the muscles and organs the signal to convert glucose to energy, the excess glucose in the blood will be carried out of the body in urine instead of being used for energy, and there will be a concurrent lack of energy. There is also increased thirst as a result of the increase in urine. The liver is adversely affected by this condition, as are the eyes and kidneys.

At heightened risk are obese dogs and female dogs. While many cases of diabetes are seen in older dogs, it can occur at any age.

Symptoms and Types

Early signs

• Excessive urination
• Excessive thirst
• Hunger
• Weight loss even with normal appetite

Later signs

• Anorexia – complete loss of appetite
• Lethargy and depression
• Vomiting

Development of Ketoacidosis – metabolic acidosis caused by the breakdown of fat and proteins in the liver in response to insulin deficiency

• Depression
• Vomiting

Other symptoms include:

• Enlarged liver
• Cataracts
• Bladder or kidney infection
• Obesity

Causes

There are several possible causes for diabetes mellitus. Genetic predisposition is one likely cause, since some breeds seem to be predisposed to diabetes, and dogs that have diabetes often also have relatives with it. However, there is also thought to be a relation to hormones therapies, since dogs that are receiving drugs to control heat cycles are at a higher risk for developing diabetes. This is due to their interference with insulin production. Pancreatitis is also likely to be a factor.

Some causes that are still being investigated are immune-system disorders, and there are indications that viral diseases can also lead to this condition. The prevalence of diabetes in dogs is not great; it varies between one in 400 and one in 500.

The following breeds are at a higher risk:

• Keeshond
• Puli
• Miniature Pinscher
• Samoyed
• Cairn terrier
• Poodle
• Dachshund
• Miniature Schnauzer
• Beagle

Diagnosis

Your veterinarian will take detailed medical history from you of your dog's health leading up to the onset of symptoms and details of the exact symptoms. Standard tests will include a complete blood count, chemical profile, and urinalysis. These tests should be sufficient for diagnosis and initial treatment.

Typically, with diabetes, an unusually high concentration of glucose will be found in the blood and urine. Abnormally high levels of liver enzymes and electrolytes imbalances are also common. Urine test results may also show evidence of abnormally high levels of ketone bodies - water-soluble compounds produced as a by-product of fatty acid metabolism in the liver and kidney. A numbers of other abnormalities may also be found.

Radiographic studies, including x-rays and ultrasonography, can be helpful for the diagnosis of concurrent diseases and complications due to diabetes. Abdominal X-rays and ultrasound will help to determine the presence of kidney stones and/or inflammation of the pancreas and liver, as well as other associated abnormalities. In the case of liver disease, should it appear suspect, your veterinarian may decide to take a sample of liver tissue for further diagnostic evaluation.

Treatment and Care

Your veterinarian will prescribe a course of treatment that will include daily exercise in your dog’s schedule. Lowering insulin demands and balancing your dog's food and liquid cravings to healthy levels will be the first priority. Obesity is one of the major risk factors for diabetes, and this condition can make management of diabetes difficult, but it can only be brought under control slowly and with great care. The target weight may be reached in 2-4 months, but your veterinarian will need to suggest a practical time line that is appropriate for your dog. If your dog has actually lost weight, you will need to work with your veterinarian on a plan to increase your dog's weight to normal levels.

Soft and moist foods will have to be avoided because they cause rapid accumulation of glucose in the body. However, do not change your dog food suddenly and without first discussing it with your veterinarian. Your dog will need a well-thought out and strictly enforced diet plan. Your veterinarian can help you to design a plan that is well suited to your dog's needs, with life-style changes to facilitate proper management of the diabetes.

Most patients' diabetes can be managed without complications, but for some dogs the situation may be more challenging. Your veterinarian will make an individual treatment and management plan for your dog based on the dog's current disease status. Your veterinarian will also brief you on what to look for in case of either hypoglycemia (low levels of glucose) or hyperglycemia (high level of glucose), both of which can be seen in diabetic dogs. Keeping a daily and weekly chart of your dog's diet, glucose test results, daily insulin dose, and weekly body weight is highly recommended for following patterns and recognizing when your dog deviates from it's regular pattern. There are various types of insulin available and a selection of the type that is appropriate to your dog will made by your veterinarian.

For instance, smaller dogs usually need multiple doses of insulin as part of their daily insulin therapy, while larger dogs may only need one dose per day. Likewise, doses are calculated according to the weight, age, gender and individual insulin requirements of the affected dog. Depending on how severe the diabetic condition is, and how the amount of insulin in the body variates from day to day, you may need to evaluate your dog's blood glucose levels on a daily basis and adjust the insulin dose accordingly.

If this is a serious issue, and there are no plans to breed, your veterinarian will recommend a hysterectomy for your female dog. This is to avoid the surge of hormones at the time of estrus, which can further complicate your dog's health. Unfortunately, this is not a disease that will be cured, but your dog's health can be kept stable and it can go on to live a fully enjoyable life. This will be dependent on your willingness to adhere to your doctor's dietary recommendations. If properly managed, diabetic patients do well and usually have normal life-spans. The best preventive from complications is practicing careful maintenance.

Dog Trick : Teaching Your Dog to Stay

Difficulty: Easy

Consider this scenario:Company arrives, and your dog goes wild. You can't keep him away from them; sniffing, nudging, licking. If only he knew to stay when you told him, to keep a good distance between himself and your company.
You seat yourself at the dining table. The meal is laid out before you, its scent arising around you, ice cold tea poured in the glass next to the salad bowl, and beside you hangs your dog's dripping tongue and his eyes pierce you in want of the food you have yet to taste.

You tell him to get out. He does, but not allowing quite enough time to let you sip your tea, or take a bite, or say a word to your dinner guest as he unfolds a dark-red napkin onto his lap. The dog is back; you give him nothing. He trots past you and lays his large muzzle on top of the black suit pants of your guest, onto his red napkin, stares into his eyes, towards his plate, again into his eyes.

He comes and he goes, and he comes. Lock him outside on the screened-porch? He'll only bark. Loudly. You'll force him out of the room, but he won't stay even if you tell him to. He doesn't know how. You haven't trained him.

Although this command may be unnecessary, since teaching your dog to sit or lay down should keep him in that position until you give the release command, it is sometimes helpful to have a stay command for longer periods of waiting, or if you want your dog to freeze in the middle of an action.

Step 1: Have your dog sit. Click and treat.

Step 2: Say 'stay.' Wait six seconds. Say 'release' then click and treat.

Step 3: Say 'sit,' 'stay' and wait ten seconds. Say 'release' then click and treat. 

Step 4: Repeat four or five times per session.

Step 5: Practice this trick in multiple sessions every day, gradually building up to several minutes before releasing.

OUR EXPERIENCE

We don't usually use the stay command with Caspian, unless we want to emphasize that we want him to freeze and not move. We tell him to stay when we balance a treat or toy on his nose before giving him a release command to catch it. In addition to using the clicker, we would physically restrain him by holding his collar. We would gradually lessen our hold each time until he would stay on his own. We did this because Caspian gets excited really easily, and will sometimes "jump the gun" so to speak.

TEACHING TROUBLE

My dog is so impatient!
Dogs are impatient, it's true. You have him sit, you tell him to stay, but he might have other ideas. You haven't quite reached the ten second mark, and he's running towards you. He's impatient and wants a treat now. He knows that sooner or later he'll get it, and he prefers sooner.

Sometimes, it's the dog owners who are impatient. You tell your dog to stay, but he won't stay so you get frustrated. But screaming at your dog won't help. Be patient. In order for a dog to 'stay,' patience must be put to order, for both the dog and his owner. Go over the steps, and soon you're dog will get the message. Don't relent if they come begging before you reach your set time limit, and don't treat them. You might have to go back a few seconds, or even half a minute. But make sure your dog is staying still as a statue until you say 'release.'

Tip: "Make sure your dog is staying still as a statue until you say release."

Dog Trick : Teaching Dog Come

Difficulty: Moderate 

Items Needed: Clicker, Treats

If you only teach your dog one thing from this book, teach him this command—it could save your dog's life. If your dog will not always come when called, he is not safe off leash. Teaching your dog to come when called is not only valuable for your dog's safety but also makes spending time with your dog more enjoyable knowing that he will not cause trouble by running away. If you teach your dog to come when called, and practice it every day, then you will build a trusting relationship with your dog.

Step 1: Load the cue instead of the clicker. Here's how: 

Go up to your dog and give the command that you will use to call the dog, then treat him. For example: Say the word "here Puddles" and give him a piece of bacon. Repeat multiple times during the day and each time give different treats (bacon, chicken, kibble, tug game; but in addition to treats, always give praise).

Step 2: Go across the room and give the command. "Here Puddles!" He will come to you to get his treat. When he does, click and jackpot (give a large treat or several treats). At this point in the training go back to click treating when he comes.

Step 3: Each time your dog comes to you pet his head and loop your hand under his collar before you give the treat. This is to get your dog used to being held when he comes to you. Dogs will pull away if they think they are being cornered into something they would rather not be doing. This should be a habit for you as well as the dog. 

Step 4: Try calling him from different rooms.

Step 5: Practice calling him when he is interested in something else. Vary the reward each time: sometimes a treat, sometimes just praise.

OUR EXPERIENCE

Caspian is a really smart labradoodle, but the one thing that he used to not be good at was coming when he was called. He gets excited extremely easily and loses focus during a training session if he sees other dogs or other activity going on. Truthfully, we were simply irresponsible in teaching him such an important command. One day, after playing fetch outside in our field, he spotted a squirrel, and took off after it. We tried calling him back to us, but he was too interested in the animal he was chasing. They ran across a road at the same time a car was coming down the mountain. The driver didn't have time to stop, and hit Caspian going around 30 miles per hour. Caspian rolled for about fifty feet, knocking down a construction sign next-door. We rushed him to the emergency veterinarian, who wasn't extremely hopeful. Caspian didn't have any broken bones, but couldn't move his back legs. It was a long road to recovery, but after several days, the swelling on his spinal cord decreased, and he was able to stand for a few seconds at a time. After many months of working with him, he was able to move around like he used to, but not quite as limber. And, even today he carries scars from skidding along the pavement. That experience taught us that teaching the recall command, teaching "come," is more important than anything else we could teach our dog.

TEACHING TROUBLE

I've taught my dog "Come" before, but now he won't obey me.

We originally taught Caspian to "come" as a puppy by playing a game where several people stood in a circle taking turns calling the dog and Caspian would come to each person calling him to get a treat. Unfortunately, later we poisoned the "come" command by using it primarily to go in the house after a play time - he started to associate the command with not being able to play anymore. We decided to start over and teach him using a different command word (we used "here").

Tip: "Get your family or friends to help you out. Have someone call your dog. If he comes to that person, treat. If he comes to someone else, be still and quiet until he finds the person who called him."

How to Looking for Perfect Dog Names

There are so many great dog names to choose from, it can be hard to decide on the perfect name for your new furry kid!

Naming your dog is such an exciting time. It's something that the whole family -- even the kids -- can take part in.

But naming your dog is also “serious business”.

After all, you wouldn’t choose your child’s name lightly, would you? The same holds true when it comes to choosing a name for your dog. You are going to be saying and hearing this name for many years to come, so you’ll want to get it right!

Whether you're choosing masculine names, chocolate Lab names, names for white dogs, small pooch names or female puppy names, here are some tips to help ensure that you pick the perfect name for your four-legged family member.

Tips to Choosing Perfect Dog Names

Let your dog help you choose his (or her) name.

My dog, Chase, came from a shelter. I have no idea who gave him his name, but my husband and I chose to keep it because it fits him perfectly. Chase is completely calm inside the house, but as soon as he gets outside… look out! I’ve spent half of the seven years we’ve had him chasing him around! Someone at that shelter knew that the name Chase fit him perfectly, and we had to agree!

If you take the time to get to know your dog’s personality before naming him, he might very well “choose” his own name, too.

When considering names for your dog, you might also want to look closely at your dog’s physical appearance. Jet is one of those cool names for black dogs , while Cashew and Popcorn are cute yellow Lab names.

Keep it simple and easy to understand.

A short name – preferably one or two syllables – is best. So, if you just can’t resist naming your dog Dandelion or Pumpernickel, try shortening it to Dandy and Nicky for everyday use.

Also, avoid names that sound too much like commands, and especially keep away from any name that sounds like a reprimand. For example, “Sid” sounds too much like “Sit!” and “Beau” sounds like “No!”. You want your dog to respond happily when you call his name, not to think you’re scolding him!

Don’t make your dog a laughing stock.

Before you decide to go for a name that gets a laugh, bear in mind that your dog will have to live with this name for the rest of his life.

Although he might not know the meaning of the name, dogs are very perceptive, and he will know when people are making fun of him. Anyway, is that really the perception that you want people to have – that you think your dog is ridiculous? If you want your dog to have dignity, then it’s best to give him a name that both of you can be proud of.

Choose a name that will grow well with your dog.

Have you ever met an adult person and thought, “What were his parents thinking when they named him”? Well, the same holds true with dog names. Names like “Tiny” and “Baby” might fit a puppy just fine, but not so much when that puppy grows into a 75-pound adult! Again, you don’t want your dog to be a laughing stock, so make sure that his “puppy name” will work just as well as his “adult name”.

Be aware that your dog’s name will affect how people view him.

Just as people unfairly stereotype dogs based on their appearance, they do the same thing based on the dog’s name. Giving your dog a “tough” name like “Killer” might seem cool to you, but it will also make people afraid of him, even if he’s the biggest puddle of sweetness east of the Mississippi. Is this image really fair to your dog?

Choose a name you will enjoy for years to come.

Have you noticed how people are getting back to the basics with their kids’ names? It seems that after a while those “unique” names get tiring, while the tried-and-true classics never seem to get stale. Consider this when you are picking a name for your dog.When you are choosing a dog name, think about whether the name is one that you will enjoy saying thousands of times over the years.

If you feel it is “cool” now but could grow old rather quickly, it’s probably best to skip it in favor of a name both you and your dog can grow comfortably into throughout his life.

With all that being said, it’s worth noting that you don’t have to stick to just one dog name for your pet. People have “nicknames”, and so can dogs. In the course of a given day, Chase is “Potato”, “Sweet Potato”, “Monkey” and even – I can’t believe I’m saying this – “Stinky Butt”!

And for anyone who thinks that dogs can only remember and respond to one name, I have to respectfully disagree. Whether I’m using his “real” name or his nicknames, Chase comes running!

So, perhaps the most important thing about choosing a dog name is to forget all the rules and let your heart guide you. Just like it guided you into picking your perfect dog, it will guide you into picking your perfect dog name.

Dog Trick : Teach Your Dog Release

Now that your dog knows how to Sit, Lay Down, and Stand, a good command to teach next is Release. This is much easier to teach if your dog consistently sits on command and stays. This is a dog-training essential, a way to tell your dog that it's okay to move around freely. For example, when your dog is playing with a toy, you can have him Sit or Lay Down and then toss the toy. Your dog should remain in the sitting or down position until the Release command is given.

Step 1: Give the command to sit. After waiting five to eight seconds, go ahead and use the vocal command with a hand motion of your choice to tell your dog to be released from his sitting position. If you act excited while doing this, your dog should naturally release. When he does so, click and treat. Repeat this step until your dog is consistently releasing.

Step 2: Eventually, you will want to be less enthusiastic with your command, and will want your dog to release when given a more subtle cue. To do this, again give the command to sit. After your dog holds for 5-8 seconds, use just the vocal command, but still be just as energetic as before. Each time you repeat this, you'll want to tone down your enthusiasm a little at a time to make the command more subtle.

Step 3: In subsequent sessions extend the wait time (about 4 or 5 seconds per session ) before giving the release, gradually building up endurance so that your dog will wait several minutes before being released. 

OUR EXPERIENCE

When teaching Caspian to release from a sitting or down position, we used the term "Go" as our release command. Playing fetch is Caspian's all time favorite thing to do, and we will usually run through several tricks before throwing the ball. This is a good command for us to use to tell him that his patience has paid off, and he can now run after the ball.

TEACHING TROUBLE

My dog releases before I tell him to!

This is a common problem that is easy to fix. What might be happening is your dog senses the amount of time between when you give him the command to sit (or lay down) and when you give him the command to release. Try varying the time between the two commands. Maybe try giving him the release command after 3 seconds, then give him the command after 5 seconds the next time. Another thing that may be happening is that your dog is responding to a visual cue that you aren't aware of. Dogs are smart creatures, and can respond to facial expressions and very slight movements. You might be giving him a cue to release and not even know it!

Tip: "Be enthusiastic as much as you can to help your dog learn this trick!"

Dog Trick : Teach Your Dog to Stand

Now that your dog knows how to Sit and Lay Down, a good command to teach next is Stand. This command is more helpful than novel. Keep in mind, since standing is such a normal thing for your dog it may be difficult for him to understand why he is being rewarded. Sometimes it helps to click him as he stands up from a sitting or laying position. This will help him realize that it is the standing up action you are looking for.

Step 1: Have your dog lay down. Wait for him to stand up. When he stands up, click and treat. Repeat this action several times until he learns that he has to stand up in order to get his treat. Standing is so natural that it is likely that the dog won't immediately understand why he is being rewarded, so it may take more repetition than usual. (Initially, it's okay to click even if he isn't standing perfectly; you can work up to this gradually).

Step 2: Begin to introduce a visual cue (like your hand gesturing upward) and a verbal command ("Stand") so that he can associate those with standing. Click and treat.

Step 3: Have him lay down, then say, "Stand." Jackpot when he stands in the perfect position on command. 

OUR EXPERIENCE

When Caspian learned to stand, I started out having him lay down. I waited until he stood up. While he was standing up, I clicked and treated. Doing this several times, he soon learned that he had to stand up to get a treat. I started using my command (Stand!) as I had him stand up. Soon, he would stand up when I gave the command. I did this in other sessions in Down positions as well as Sitting, Playing Dead, etc., to give him different scenarios for his new trick.

TEACHING TROUBLE

Tip: "Try to keep commands to one or two-syllable words. These are easiest for dogs to identify."

Dog Trick : Teach Your Dog to Lay Down

All you need to teach your dog to lay down is some space, a clicker, and a good treat. Once you have what you need, go ahead and give your dog a small whiff of the treat to get him going. Sometimes this is an easy way to get your dog to try to figure out ways to get more treats.

Step 1: Grab your clicker and a good treat.

Step 2: Just watch your dog and wait for him to lay down. When he lays down, immediately click and treat.

Step 3: Keep waiting for your dog to do it again. Soon he will realize that he gets a click and treat whenever 

he lays down.

Step 4: When your dog begins to lay down more often, add the command and say "Down" when you click. 

Step 5: After repeating a few more times to reinforce the action, say, "Down." If the dog lays down at the command, give him a jackpot for his good work!

OUR EXPERIENCE

The treat I used is just a slice of American cheese. It digests well for dogs, and Caspian really enjoys it. At first, of course, Caspian didn't know what to do. Since we were training outside, all the sounds and smells of neighborhood activities got in the way. I had to call him back to me a few times when he got distracted. But the treat I had for him was good and, of course, Caspian is eager to do anything for a good treat.

TEACHING TROUBLE

Tip: "A good idea is to teach this trick in a small room, such as a bathroom. Because of the small space, dogs are more likely to lay down faster."

Dog Trick : Teach Your Dog to Sit

With your clicker ready, wait for your dog to sit on his own. This part of the training session is fun for dogs, it's like a game to them. They have to figure out what to do in order to get the treat. They might spin around, lay down, come up and nudge you—whatever he does, just ignore him until he sits. When he does this immediately click and treat. The first treat should be a generous one, enough to get him motivated for more.

Keep on waiting until he sits again. Whenever he sits, click and treat. By this time it is normal for a dog to get frustrated since he often can't remember why he got the treat the first time and doesn't understand why he isn't getting one now (see Teaching Trouble below).

Keep clicking and treating when he sits. Soon a light will come on in the little guy's brain: "If I sit, I'll get a treat!" He'll start doing it more. When your dog gets to this stage of the training process, start saying the word "Sit" whenever you click. This will reinforce the command with his action.

Then, tell your dog to sit—he should do it right away. As soon as he does, give him a jackpot and a good petting for a job well done.

Step 1: Wait until he sits down on his own. Click and treat.
Step 2: Repeat several times.
Step 3: Say Sit as soon as he sits. Click and treat.
Step 4: Repeat several times.
Step 5: Say Sit. If he sits, click and give him a jackpot. If he does not, return to Step 4.

OUR EXPERIENCE

This was the very first trick we taught Caspian. We were so anxious to begin training him, we had barely gotten him home before we were clicking and treating. Our poor dog was so tired, he had been on a flight all day just to get to us, but he had enough energy to try this trick a few minutes before falling asleep. We had no trouble teaching Caspian this command. He was obediently sitting within just a few minutes.

TEACHING TROUBLE

He doesn't know what to do!
Be patient with him if he starts barking or whining. Ignore the behavior and wait. You sometimes have to be very patient when clicker training your dog. If your dog gets frustrated, wait until he sits, click and treat well, and take a break. It is better to have short productive training sessions with lots of breaks than long unfruitful sessions.
Tip: "It could take several training sessions for you to perfect a trick. Make sure you don't wear your dog out, give him plenty of breaks. Always end on a good note and you will never go wrong."

Dog Trick - Teach Your Dog to Touch

In this next trick, you will teach your dog to touch the end of a "Touch Stick." This is just a wooden dowel that's around 36 inches long and ⅜ inches thick. I recommend putting duct tape around the ends to protect your dog from any sharp edges. Wind the tape around and around the ends so that it pads the ends of the stick. With the touch stick, you will be able to teach many of the other tricks in this book, so learning this right away is essential for your dog.

Step 1: Hold your touch stick away from you and wait.

Step 2: Dogs are naturally curious, so when your dog touches it with his nose or mouth, click and treat. Keep doing this until he starts touching the stick without hesitation. If he isn't curious about the touch stick, gently tap his nose and click at the same time.

Step 3: Next time he touches the stick, click and treat, giving the command, "touch" at the same time. 

Step 4: When he can touch the stick on command, give him a jackpot, and make sure to praise him for his good work.

OUR EXPERIENCE

When I taught Caspian to touch the stick, I started out by holding it away from myself and waiting on him to decide what to do. He stared at it for a while, but finally, he curiously touched the end of it with his nose. I clicked immediately and gave him a treat. After doing this a few times, Caspian started touching without hesitating. He knew he'd get a treat if he touched the stick. By this point I started saying, "Touch!" when his nose touched the end of the stick. After several times doing this, he was able to touch the stick at the command. A few more sessions perfected this trick, and I have been able to use it as a foundation for many other tricks!

TEACHING TROUBLE

My dog is touching the wrong part of the stick!

When Caspian started touching the middle of the stick rather than the tip, I just ignored him. Of course, he thought he deserved a treat and started growling at me. I said nothing and ignored him. If I rewarded him for touching the wrong part of the stick, this trick wouldn't be as effective in teaching Caspian other tricks. Finally Caspian decided he should try something else and moved his nose on down to the tip. As soon as his nose touched the taped part of the stick, I clicked and treated.

Tip: "When making your touch stick, make sure that the ends are covered to protect your dog from injury. You can cover the end of the dowel with layers of duct tape or other soft covering."

Dog Trick : Teach Your Dog Its Name

After teaching your dog to respond to the clicker, you are now ready to use it to teach him many tricks and commands. Throughout the site, we demonstrate how the clicker can be used for both basic commands and more advanced tricks. If you want a well trained dog, one of the first things you need to teach is the most basic of commands: his name.

Basically, you want to "catch" good behavior with the clicker. What this means is that you want to train your dog that whenever you click (which means he has done something good.) The way we train the dog to respond to the clicker is simply by clicking and immediately treating the dog. It won't take your dog long to understand that whenever he hears the clicker he'll get a treat. This is an essential step in clicker training your dog. Another term that we will use isjackpot. This is an extra reward that you give your dog, usually when he has done exceptionally well or performed the trick perfectly for the first time.

Step 1: Ignore your dog until he looks directly at you. Click and treat.

Step 2: Do this several times, eventually adding your dog's name right before you click and treat.

Step 3: Continue doing this until your dog will look at you when you say his name.

OUR EXPERIENCE

With Caspian, I grabbed my clicker and tore some bacon into small pieces. The first thing that Caspian needed to know was that whenever he looked at me, I would click and he could get a piece of bacon. I started out just ignoring Caspian and all he was doing. He looked down for a minute, exasperated, and then back up at me. Suddenly, he heard a click, and a treat dropped to the ground. A bit surprised (and grateful), he immediately swallowed it and looked up again. CLICK! and drop. I threw it a bit farther away this time so he had to turn around. When he got his treat, he turned around to look at me, and I clicked and treated again. By this time I had started saying his name whenever he looked at me. "Caspian," click, treat.

Soon, I knew he was getting the idea of what was going on. I waited until he looked away and I said, "Caspian." He jerked his head over toward where I was sitting and I clicked and treated, giving him a big piece of bacon.

TEACHING TROUBLE

Why doesn't he remember tricks?

Even though Caspian had learned his name by the end of the session, I continued to have training sessions with him just to reinforce the trick. It's so easy for a dog to learn a trick and do it every time today, but tomorrow it is forgotten. If we are patient and stick with it, our dogs will do the same and will eventually obey us every time.

Tip: "Always end before your dog gets tired. You want your dog to look forward to his training session. Sessions are more productive when they enjoy it."