"parking" Your Dog

[sheena]

I am reading a DWD manual & they keep referring to the importance of "Parking" your dog, when you want to disconnect from him or while waiting for some activity. Teaching your dog to switch off on cue & relax. They give this video as the reference for teaching your dog to "Park". I am of two minds on how the method in this video fits in with positive reinforcement. What do you think ??? I did try it with my own dog last night & it seemed to work, after ignoring her scratching my leg, & sitting on my foot, she just laid down & went to sleep.

Edited February 10, 2015 by sheena

[Tassie]

We teach 'parking' to our puppy classes and some of the others. We explain it as being like putting someone on hold - ideally we would be 'available' to our dogs all the time, but in reality - e.g. if listening to an instructor ro or having a conversation, we can't give our dogs proper attention, so carefully taught, parking gives clear information to the dogs that we're not available, and they can please themselves - within the limits of the length of lead. It's important to be consistent about how you do it, not interacting with the dog while they're 'parked', and then doing a formal reconnect. We find the dogs get it pretty quickly, and after maybe trying a couple of things, just chill. We find it a useful companion dog skill to teach - avoids the alternative of the human chatting away with the dog doing goodness knows what at the end of the lead.

We learnt it from positive trainers - maybe originally from Kay Laurence.

ETF spelling

Edited November 25, 2014 by Tassie

[huski]

I use parking too, it is important to me that my dogs learn to switch off when I need them too.

If I get called to the ring then for whatever reason can't go in because they called too early or need to switch competitors or whatever, I don't want my dog amped up and 'leaking' drive I want to use in the ring.

I prefer to have a 'lie down' command for parking.

ETA: I am a bit iffy on the video though, why would anyone encourage a stranger to approach a restrained dog, with tension on the leash, sticking their hand in dog's the face? Way to get bitten 101...

Edited November 25, 2014 by huski

[Tassie]

Oops - my bad - didn't actually watch the video - but yes - for us a dog in park is 'invisible' - so if a stranger came near, we would 'unpark' the dog and ask for an appropriate behaviour.

[Kavik]

Interesting - never heard of it before!

I do find that timing to get your dog ready to go into the ring for competition is quite difficult! Enough time to get yourselves warmed up, focused and ready, but not so early that you are standing around waiting for a long time, and letting your dog get either flat or worked up depending on your dog.

[raineth]

Our club did a less on on this (that I missed) a few years ago. I think that it's a Suzanne Clothier thing.

I didn't end up doing it with my dog because I thought it was just likely to confuse her (just because it would have been like a change in rules for her) so I am certainly no expert. But I think other people found it helpful.

[Tassie]

It's certainly Suzanne Clothier who I first heard say that you should be available to your dog when they're with you. The parking as far as I know came from Kay Laurence. But it's based on the same principle.

Having said that, I would use it in the context of a class or seminar, but I don't use it in a competition setting. There I tend to use a variant of the denise Fenzi 'squish' :D

[raineth]

It's certainly Suzanne Clothier who I first heard say that you should be available to your dog when they're with you. The parking as far as I know came from Kay Laurence. But it's based on the same principle.

Having said that, I would use it in the context of a class or seminar, but I don't use it in a competition setting. There I tend to use a variant of the denise Fenzi 'squish' :D

Oh yes! You're right it's a Kay Laurence thing :) my bad.

[LisaCC]

Our club did a less on on this (that I missed) a few years ago. I think that it's a Suzanne Clothier thing.

I didn't end up doing it with my dog because I thought it was just likely to confuse her (just because it would have been like a change in rules for her) so I am certainly no expert. But I think other people found it helpful.

Yea they taught it in our beginners class, I don't like how they "taught" us. They just said to stand on your dogs lead and ignore it, there wasn't really anything else said.

They also tried to approach us while the pups were 'parked' which I didn't like. Obviously you know from classes recently they've changed this approach to using any command we like when they approach.

Edited November 26, 2014 by LisaCC

[sheena]

I'm instructing a Beginners Agility Class next year & I thought this might be a good lesson number one....teach your dog to park. I guess the first time I saw this done was when I took my girl to puppy school 7 years ago, & the trainer showed us to "park" our pups by getting them to lie down & then putting your foot on the lead right up near the collar I thought that was rather cruel (along with other things she showed us). But this method seems different as the dog can move around (restricted) if it likes till it settles. When I first saw the video, I thought that maybe a treat here & there for good behaviour, could be in order, but when I think about it...giving the dog a treat would involve reconnecting with the dog & that's not what you want, till you have finished "parking"...then it's step off the lead & re-engage with your dog..party, party :) Would you put a cue word on it

[Tassie]

We don't use a cue word for park - some take the collar first (having taught dog to be comfortable with that in the collar grab game), and then place the foot (or feet) on the lead. You need a longish lead for this, as you really should be able to give the dog half a metre or so, and then still be able to have the handle in your hand when you're standing upright. So the cue for the dog is just the physical actions. The release if you're using the collar hold, is to hold the collar again and then take your foot off the lead. I usually just take the foot off the lead as I say something like "OK (their general release cue, I'm back."

You're right - no treats, no interaction until you're ready to release the dog from park and be available again.

You could teach this to yor beginner agility class - as a separate exercise - have them practise it for a few times. Then it's useful if you need to speak to them briefly and have them able to concentrate on you, without needing to put their dogs away in their crates.

[sheena]

We don't use a cue word for park - some take the collar first (having taught dog to be comfortable with that in the collar grab game), and then place the foot (or feet) on the lead. You need a longish lead for this, as you really should be able to give the dog half a metre or so, and then still be able to have the handle in your hand when you're standing upright. So the cue for the dog is just the physical actions. The release if you're using the collar hold, is to hold the collar again and then take your foot off the lead. I usually just take the foot off the lead as I say something like "OK (their general release cue, I'm back."

You're right - no treats, no interaction until you're ready to release the dog from park and be available again.

You could teach this to yor beginner agility class - as a separate exercise - have them practise it for a few times. Then it's useful if you need to speak to them briefly and have them able to concentrate on you, without needing to put their dogs away in their crates.

Yes that's what I was thinking...it's so hard to talk to them when dogs are jumping around, barking & taking their attention away from instruction.

[The Spotted Devil]

If I don't give my dogs attention they relax and do as they please (Zig pisses and Em rolls or hunts :D ) I haven't actively taught anything other than when we are "on" I engage with them 100%.

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

Susan Garrett does it a lot - you can see two of her dogs chilling out here

She doesn't call it parking.

She just tells her dog to "hop it up" and while they're on the table in this context of the coaching call - they can sit, stand, shake the toy, lie down and go to sleep... whatever. But they can't leave - well sometimes they do (she let Swagger leave the table when he went in his crate instead) but she sets and enforces the criteria. Ie stay on the table when I ask you to until I say you can do something else.

The way she trains it - is to reward the dog for staying where she put them - in the crate, on the table, in a down... crate games DVD explains it really well.

I just tell my dog to "wait" and she figures out from the context whether she can move into a more comfortable position or something is about to happen or she has to stay where she is the way she is (she might be a bit crap at this one at the moment).

Edited November 27, 2014 by Mrs Rusty Bucket

[OSoSwift]

Mine have an on cue and a we are finished cue. If I ask them to lie down and wait they relax and wait. Or they get sent to a mat or bed, then they can flip flop around but we are not working. I ask them are you "ready??" cue dog is on!

[dididog]

I think there was a kikopup video I watched and it was to teach a dog to settle and be calm for when you were sitting at a cafe or something but I've taught it so Didi knows if she is on lead and I am not engaging with her that she needs to park her butt and wait calmly for my next move whether we're at training in between exercise/on the train/waiting for someone etc. It's one of the few things Didi is really good and consistent with, probably because it doesn't involve moving :laugh:

[sheena]

Our young boy Cricket, is so good at parking, that last week at agility training, I almost forgot to put him in the car. All the equipment had been put away & there he was still out in the middle of the paddock, waiting to be "un-parked". :laugh: It wasn't so much if people "park" their dogs, I was more wondering about this (the video) method of teaching it. I think that this "parking" is different to when we teach our dog to lie down on a mat till released, if you know what I mean.

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

Yeah - I think there are better ways to teach it than standing on the lead.

And you have to include distraction proofing as part of the training or the first magpie or possum or running dog that goes by and your dog is going to be gone.

[Tassie]

The 'parking' that I thought this was about, and the one we teach, is not the same as the go to your mat/stay on your mat ... type of exercise. We only teach it as a quite temporary thing, to be used when the handler needs to pay attention to something other than the dog - in a situation where the dog is either on lead, or as might be the case in a class like sheena's, can be put back on lead as part of the process. It is designed so that the dog is under physical ontrol, (not directed by the handler once they're in park) but can make choices about what position s/he will adopt, and whether that position will be maintained - it usually is once they settle, but that's the dog's choice.

We find it's a useful skill to teach pet dog owners - makes it easy for them if they meet someone in the street and want to chat. But also very useful in a class situation as an alternative to crating - beginners often don't have crates with them.

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

The 'parking' that I thought this was about, and the one we teach, is not the same as the go to your mat/stay on your mat ... type of exercise.

I use the same command for that, as mat, ok I have a "mat" command but I do have to follow that up with "wait" if I expect her to stay there.

I use "wait" for any time I want her to stay where I put her until I say she can "go". Same command for start line stays, for parking while we change the jump heights, and stopping here, while I go put stuff in the bin over there, or stay there while the new puppy sniffs you - which in context - she has to hold position as well.

She knows when I'm checking on her to hold position vs when I'm not so I could be in trouble if we ever need to hold position through "out of sight" stays. But she gets the obedience context (in a row of dogs) pretty well so doesn't move much then. Even when some other dog gets up and sits on her or does a play bow at her.

The mat or crate is now entirely optional. Tho the task started on the mat in front of the dinner bowl for us. Which lead to drop stays at club - with her wagging her tail the whole time - cos she was thinking of dinner.