By Sophia Yin, DVM, MS  September 14, 2009

It takes about 5 minutes to train a puppy to learn most new behaviors but how long does it take for that behavior to become a habit? When I started training Lucy, my Dad’s  8 week old Australian Cattledog I was hoping that not long. By then I had been training her for a week through the puppy learn to earn program (a.k.a. Creating the Perfect Pup in 7 Days)  and she seemed virtually perfect. She would automatically sit to get petted, to get her leash on, to go out the door and come back in, and even when she greeted guests, including a young child. And she could walk on leash and come when called even when playing with other puppies.

The idea was, that I would teach her as many of the behaviors and skills she would need as an adult in the first week I had her and before she had to time to learn all kinds of bad stuff. Now the question was, would she behave well for my parents too when I brought her home for the first time to see them? She was good for the all the guests and students that I had interact with her. So I was hopeful that summer day when I brought her home.

Of course the wrench in the plan was that my parents are elderly. My dad is 81 and my mom, though younger, has bad knees. And although they’ve owned dogs for over 25 years, like most long-time dog owners, they are not dog training experts.

Lucy Arrives at Her New Home

As I lifted Lucy out of the car outside my parent’s house and into her new surroundings I was happy that she was immediately interested in exploring. She was used to the suburbs and now she was in San Francisco, a busy city. The sounds and traffic didn’t phase her. But once in their house when my parents first tried to get her to pay attention to them, I knew I was immediately in trouble. At my house, she would automatically sit when you made a smooching sound to get her attention. At my parent’s house, as I instructed my dad how to get her attention and reward her for sitting, she acted like they were invisible. Instead, she lunged towards the roses or grabbed twigs off the ground. Then when she did sit and look at my dad, by the time he started delivering the treat to her (kibble from her meal and treats) she was off doing something else. Or when she sat, he’d get the treat down to her level, but it was 2 feet away from her face. She’d remain seated as if puzzled then shrug her puppy shoulders and walk off.

At this point, I realize that due to my parents’ age, coordination, and ability to learn the exercises, I’m probably going to need to train Lucy for more than a week. Yes, it turns out that senior citizens generally move more slowly than the average adult. And in my experience most middle-aged adults need training on delivering the food or other rewards quickly enough to reward the correct behavior and make the interactions fun. Furthermore I quickly learned that my Dad just did not have the attention span of one of may regular behavior consult clients.  I had written a 32 page photo illustrated book of all of the learn to earn exercises I had trained Lucy to perform and I envisioned teaching my parents how to perform at least half of them during the next 2 days. After working on just one, treat delivery speed and rewarding her when sitting, I could tell, what I really needed was 30 sequential days. Two days per exercise.  Realistically, that wasn’t going to happen since I live nearly 100 miles away.

Will My Dad Bond to His New Dog

I wondered if my dad, who had practically forced me to get this puppy for him, would bond to her. She wasn’t like his last Australian Cattledog, Roody. In her new environment she was more of the typical rowdy, energetic Cattledog. The type that grows up and gets in trouble from bad habits down the road.

But my dad, who’d been waiting all week for me to deliver Lucy to him, wasn’t about to give up. My instructions were that my parents were to have Lucy on leash at all times when she was out of her crate and that she work for every single kibble of her breakfast, lunch and dinner throughout the day by sitting. The only other way she could earn kibble was if they uttered her name and immediately gave her a treat so that she would learn that her name meant that she should look towards them for something good to happen.

On day two as I left for work, Lucy was still focused on me and happy to be petted by my parents, but not on sitting in a focused manner for them. I wondered if I would be taking her back with me when I left the next day or whether my dad would have the patience to keep at it in spite of the early disappointment. To my delight, when I got home after work, my dad reported proudly, “Lucy’s much better. Now she’s sitting for me.” And when I watched she was. She was also sometimes jumping on him because he sometimes held the treat too high or rewarded her too late. But at least she was focusing on him.

Lucy’s Fate?

That night, I left, hopeful that they would read the instructional manual I’d made for them since I wouldn’t be able to return for over 2 weeks. Clearly one week hadn’t been enough to form a habit for Lucy, but hopefully if they performed the exercises correctly at least 50 or 60% of the time her earlier training would kick in. And more importantly, hopefully my dad would get her out for the all-important socialization since she was still in her prime socialization period.  She was already enrolled in puppy socialization class.

With steady training she would become a part of his household, rather than developing the serious behavior issues that dogs with the Australian Cattledog reputation can pick up. Because as much as I like Lucy, I had bought Lucy for my dad, and I didn’t want her to become my permanent pet.

To see the puppy learn to earn program that Lucy went through, and the instructions for my dad go to: http://www.askdryin.com/dog_articles.php and select the article at the top. This will be up temporarily.

To see video of day 1 training go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yN6FzBmy2YM.

By Sophia Yin, DVM, MS   August 7, 2009

For anyone watching, you’ve probably noticed some blog silence on my part. No, I didn’t fall off the face of the earth; rather, I bought my dad a puppy, which means that, although it’s his, I’m quite busy. Busier than he is, in fact.

If you’d asked me a year ago what I’d be doing this summer, I guarantee I would not have guessed I’d be training a pup for my dad. But about 6 months ago, I had some premonitions that this might be coming up.

First, my parents’ Scottie, Meggie, had gotten lymphosarcoma of the spleen. She then had a splenectomy and for several months seemed perfectly healthy, but the initial scare put the idea in my dad’s head. When I would visit my parents—they live nearly 100 miles away—with my JRT, Jonesy, my dad would slip in statements like, “Let me have Jonesy.” Or “Jonesy’s mine.”

Ok anyone who knows Jonesy, the $300,000 dog, knows that the only way he would live with someone else would be over my dead body. He’s known as the $300,000 dog to some because of the number of hours of training I’ve put into him, just so that he can function like a well-behaved dog in day-to-day life. And anyone—like training assistants— who’s actually worked with Jonesy the first 1.5 years I had him has decided they will never get a JRT.

Now fast-forward several months. We eventually had to put poor Meggie to sleep at 13 years of age. Her lymphosarcoma had come back. Not a week had gone by and my dad was demanding, “Get me an Australian Cattledog. One just like Roody.”  Why an ACD—a breed known for aggression? My veterinary friend who worked in Australia once told me, “When you drive to a farm never get out of the car if there’s a goose or an Australian Cattledog. It’s not safe.”

Because 20 years ago, when I didn’t know any better, I’d bought him an Australian cattledog puppy that we named Roody. According to my Dad, Roody was the perfect dog. Like a canine

combination of Einstein and Ghandi. I have to admit that Roody was a fantastic dog. He always stuck close to us starting at 12 weeks of age, was magically calm as a puppy—no mouthing or incessant playing—and he practically self-potty trained. And he was extremely eager, which made him appear pretty smart. But what my dad forgets is that he used to bark ballistically when people or dogs approached the car and snapped at dogs that came close—at least until I got to keep Roody permanently during the last quarter of his life from 13-17 years of age. Once I had him regularly, it was pretty easy to countercondition him so that he was happy to be around dogs and quiet when people or dogs approached the car.

And I remember when my roommate in veterinary school borrowed Roody for the UC Davis Picnic Day Parade to walk alongside our class’s float. Although Roody, then about 2 years of age, knew how to heel nicely for me, without consistent training from my parents, he walked in 5 directions at once like a bouncing Kong toy. So I’m not the only one who remembers Roody’s flaws. My veterinary school roommate can vouch for me. And then there was the description a friend of my parents and mine said when referring to Roody’s rude treat-grabbing skills trained by my dad, “Everyone knows, when giving treats to Roody, he gets the whole beef jerky.”

Of course, there was no way my dad would listen to me or my mom warning him that another cattledog wouldn’t be just like Roody and that Roody wasn’t as perfect as he remembered. I’d even owned a second Australian cattledog, Zoe, who was clearly very different from Roody. She was great with people and dogs, for one. But my dad had only Roody in his mind when he thought Australian Cattledog.

I knew that at 81 years of age, my dad wasn’t about to change his mind or ways. Either I was going to get him a cattledog or I’m sure he was going to get one on a whim himself. He wanted a catttledog and he wanted one now.

So, I and my assistant Melissa perused the web for available Australian cattledogs, assuming I wouldn’t find one that looked just like Roody for months. And then out of the blue, hey, there was one available nearby. She was the only one available in her litter, her parents were OFA certified fair or good, tested for PRA and her photo posted on the web page looked close enough to Roody to be acceptable to my dad. But even more important to me, when I visited, was her behavioral health. Her parents were both friendly to humans—no crazy nipping at heals or defensive postures. And she, as well as all of the other puppies, was outgoing and friendly. They immediately ran over to be petted and followed us around as we walked around the pasture. And she was also good with the test dog I brought for her to greet. So I got her.

In fact, I got her several days before my dad knew so that I would have several extra days to start training her without listening to his incessant nagging to drop everything I was doing and bring the puppy to him. My goal was to start her socialization to people and dogs and to train her through the puppy learn to earn program in a week so that she would already have good habits before my dad got her. That way he’d have less of a chance to mess her up.

I have to admit, I was not looking forward to having a pup, dealing with potty training, and the business of a pup. But it turned out that in her first week Lucy—that’s the name my Dad gave to her even before I had purchased her—was perfect. By the end of the week, she was automatically sitting to greet people, go in and out of the house, to get her leash on, and basically every time she wanted something from me or we were walking and I stopped. She met about 10 dogs and played nicely but also came when called. And she loved all people she met.

I couldn’t believe my luck. Of course Melissa, who fosters puppies and adult dogs all the time said, no, Lucy wasn’t better than a normal pup. She was just good from the

training and I thought she was great because I like Australian cattleodogs.

So about a week after I had adopted Lucy, I brought her to my dad. How did she do with him? Well, let me give you a hint… She’s back with me for training. But wait. It may not be for reasons that you’d exactly expect. So to find out what happened next stay tuned for updates.

To see the puppy learn to earn program that Lucy went through, and the instructions for my dad go to: http://www.askdryin.com/dog_articles.php and select the article at the top. This will be up temporarily.

To see video of day 1 training go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yN6FzBmy2YM.