The Most Important Exercise for Multiple Dog or Puppy Owners - Part II

By Aidan Bindoff

In Part I of this article we learned how to train each of our dogs individually to Go to Mat for a full 1 minute stay in a variety of locations.

In this installment, we will learn how to train our dogs to all Go to Mat together as a group.

(Note: the author of this article realizes that some readers will be dealing with dogs who are aggressive towards one another and live in the same home. While this training exercise is highly recommended for dogs with this sort of issue, it is strongly advised that a competent trainer with a behavioral science background and experience with canine aggression is sought before training commences and that safety management precautions are taken throughout training.)

The golden rule in training is to set your dog up for success. If your dog can't easily succeed at the task you have set, then you have nothing to reinforce and the dog doesn't learn what you want him or her to learn. With that in mind, if you have more than two dogs it is suggested that you work with only two dogs at a time until all dogs are proficient at this exercise in a group of two before trying to train three or more dogs at a time.

We have already covered training each dog individually to Go to Mat and have built a 1 minute stay in a variety of locations. In order to set our dogs up for success, we're going to reduce our time on mat to 1 second only. Ask each dog to Go to Mat, click after 1 second, and treat both dogs at the same time. Arrange the mats so that you can easily do this, and start the training in a low distraction environment.

In our earlier training we tossed the treat off the mat so that we were setting up a situation where our dog had to go back to the mat. Now we're going to treat our dogs in position, on their mats. Why? Some dogs will try to bully a treat from another dog and feeding in position minimizes the chances of that happening. By now, our dogs already know how to Go to Mat, we're just trying to build duration with two dogs on separate mats in the same room.

A Simple Technique for Building Duration:

Have both dogs Go to Mat and count to one, silently in your head. Click once and treat both dogs together, in position. There is every chance that one or both dogs will break position when you click, that's fine, still give the treats. If they break position after getting the treats, that's fine too, just ask them to Go to Mat again for the next repetition.

When both dogs are on their mats, count to two, silently in your head. Click once and treat both dogs together.

When both dogs are on their mats, count to three, silently in your head. Click once and treat both dogs together. If either dog breaks position before you get to your count of three, simply ask both dogs to Go to Mat and start your count at one again.

A typical training session looks something like this: (silent counting in brackets, Click and Treat means 1 click and treats for both dogs)

(1) Click & Treat

(1,2) Click & Treat

(1,2,3) Click & Treat

(1,2 - one or the other dog breaks)

(1) Click & Treat

(1,2) Click & Treat

(1,2,3) Click & Treat

(1,2,3,4) Click & Treat

(1,2,3 - one or the other dog breaks)

(1) Click & Treat

(1,2) Click & Treat

(1,2,3) Click & Treat

(1,2,3,4) Click & Treat

(1,2,3,4,5) Click & Treat

When you can count to 30 and neither dog breaks position, then find a new location and repeat the same procedure.

When you can count to 30 with neither dog breaking position, you can also try adding small distractions such as:

1. turning the TV/Radio on

2. picking up a tennis ball

3. rolling or bouncing a tennis ball

4. leaving a treat in front of you (ready to cover it up if a dog goes for it!)

5. walking away a few steps

6. pretending to answer the telephone

... use your imagination, but remember - always set your dogs up for success!

Owners of three or more dogs might like to start training three or more dogs at a time when a 30 second Go to Mat stay can be completed successfully with two or more distractions from the above list (for all dogs).

In Part III of this article we will teach our dogs to stay on their mats while we train, play or feed another dog - a very handy behavior in multiple dog households.

Part I of this article can be found here.

Aidan Bindoff is Editor of Positive Petzine, a free resource for people training their own dog. Each edition is packed with helpful tips for training your dog using the latest pet-friendly methods that work fast and don't require a degree in animal behavior to use.

As Featured On Best Ezines

This page was updated on 20-Feb-2007


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