Media Release: APDT Professional Dog Trainers’ Advice for the New “First Dog”

The Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT), the largest educational and professional association for dog trainers in the world, congratulates the President and his family on their new canine addition. We asked our members to provide their top tips for training and living with a dog in the White House (or any house!)

Greenville, SC - April 13, 2009 – The Association of Pet Dog Trainers promotes positive, dog-friendly training based on humane, scientific methods. All dogs, whether the “First Dog” or dogs who live on “Main Street,” require training and socialization to become happy, harmonious residents in a family’s household. Learning should be fun and exciting for humans and dogs alike, and all family members should become actively involved in the training process.

We queried our members about what they would teach the new “First Dog” if they became the White House dog trainer. A detailed listing of their advice is on our web site, www.apdt.com. Some highlights include:

1) Use Positive Training Techniques – The APDT recommends that you use training methods based on positive reinforcement and the latest scientific understandings of dog behavior. This will motivate your dog to choose to follow your commands, rather than doing them out of fear or avoidance. Teaching your dog with the enduring power of love, kindness and respect will create a deeper bond with your dog and family and will provide a profound example for all dog owners in the U.S. The APDT has provided an article on how to find a humane, professional trainer on the APDT’s web site at http://www.apdt.com/po/ts/choose_trainer.aspx.

2) Teach proper greeting behavior - Since the “First Dog” will encounter many new people, places and things, socializing to a variety of people, places and experiences on a regular basis and pairing this with positive reinforcement will ensure that he will be a good “ambassador” for all dogs in the U.S.

3) Involve the family and staff in training – Dogs learn through consistency and repetition; everyone who encounters the dog should be “on the same page” as to how to greet him, what verbal commands and hand signals to use, and what behaviors to reinforce.

4) Use games and play in training – Using games can be a wonderful way, for children in particular, to train a dog to basic thru advanced obedience commands in a positive and fun atmosphere.

5) Provide appropriate chew toys – All dogs, particularly young and adolescent dogs, need to chew. If young dogs are not given proper chewing outlets, they will easily find the wrong ones! Keep the White House furnishings secure by providing the “First Dog” with food-filled chew toys to exercise his mouth and his mind.

"Whether you get a puppy or an older dog, of course you'll want to teach and reinforce basic behaviors for good manners such as sit, down, stay, come when called, leave it  and walking nicely on a leash.  Additionally, since the First Dog will undoubtedly encounter lots of new people, places and things,  socializing and exposing him to these things on a regular basis will be of utmost importance.  I suggest attention to these five key areas:

1. Set your dog up for success, not failure. It's our responsibility to set our dogs up for success by dog proofing their space, setting up boundaries and limiting their access to things we don't want them to have, and being proactive. When it comes to dogs, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," so look for and intercept any possible pitfalls your dog might encounter.
2. Learn to "speak dog." Dogs don't speak our language, so it's imperative that we learn how best to communicate with them. Precise timing is essential in human/dog communication. 
3. Remember your dog is a dog, not a human. Even though we love our dogs like one of the family, we do them a tremendous disservice by attributing human characteristics to them and imposing human expectations that they can't possibly ever live up to.  Have realistic, fair expectations and remember that mistakes will happen - he's a dog! 
4. Be a kind, benevolent leader. Using fear and dominance to get your dog to do something can not only result in unreliability, but can damage the long term relationship as well.  Motivating and leading with love, kindness and respect can result in a much stronger bond with a dog that chooses to follow you rather than only follows because he is being forced to do so.
5. Form a partnership - Give your dog a job. Most dogs were bred to assist man or perform some type of job or duty.  Training your dog to perform certain duties or allowing him to participate in dog sports and activities will not only build his confidence, but will give him a sense of purpose and accomplishment.  As the saying goes, a tired dog is a well behaved dog! 
   

Laurie Williams, CPDT
Fredericksburg, VA
www.pupniron.com

The new White House pup should know the basic commands that benefit all dogs (and their people). These are "Sit," and "Stay," and "Down." But better manners are expected from the First Dog.

The command "Off" will be needed to get the puppy off the furniture. It's not great to have dog hair on the chair that the President or the First Lady may soon occupy. One alternative is for them to always wear clothes with a tweed pattern.

"Leave it" will come in handy when a secret service agent's ear phone falls to the ground or when Malia or Sasha drops a Hershey bar on the floor. The pup may like the taste going down but not so much when the veterinarian is getting it to come back up.

Every dog should respond to the command of "Back" but none more than a frisky pup anticipating the opening of the door to the open spaces beyond. It may be magical to live in The White House but, for dogs, the greater privilege is to live in "The Land of the Free."

Paula Geary
McKeesport, PA
www.thedogvisitor.com

I would encourage teaching the following commands to the family:

• Come
• Wait
• Sit
• Say Hello
• Down
• Stay
• Loose Leash Walking
• Retrieve

These commands help the dog learn self-control, while building self-esteem. All of the family should be involved in the care and training of the dog. All of these commands can be introduced in a positive way.

Practicing can be a short game—and done in different areas of the home. Everyone must be patient and kind—and learn to speak cheerfully. The family builds trust and respect by taking care of the physical and emotional needs of the dog.

They would do well to establish a routine for daily exercise, play, and practicing the skills. We suggest that all members of the family take turns feeding the dog. It would be helpful for the family to understand that the pup will be a teenager very quickly, and may try to boss the girls around. Certainly, the dog must be shown how to enjoy meeting new people.

Janice Brennan, NADOI
St. Louis, MO
www.supportdogs.org

I think that their new dog will need a lot of socialization since there is such a huge staff and visitors to the White House. Classes would be ideal for this.

As far as commands and behaviors, of course a strong "sit/stay" and "down/stay" are imperative but a good recall will come in handy as well.

I think a polite greeting behavior is a must with no jumping up allowed. Tricks would come in handy to— people find dogs irresistible when they know how to shake, roll-over, speak and be quiet on command.

Teri Brown
Moorpark, CA
www.heavenlyk9s.com

If there's one thing the President's family dog will face it is going to be visitors. Lots and lots of visitors! Good behavior regarding greeting visitors and not jumping up on or peeing on dignitaries will be of huge importance for the presidential dog.

Therefore I would emphasize Sit/Down/Stay to keep our first pup from becoming overly excited upon strangers' arrival as well as keeping him from jumping on visitors.

When in Down/Stay our nation's dog will be calm and where he should be when around people—on the floor!

Terri Rand
Chicago, IL
www.territhetrainer.net

The White House dog should have the same accomplishments of any well behaved house dog. These start with potty training, taking food gently from the hand, come and letting the handler take the dog's collar, sit, down and stand by both verbal and hand signals, walking on a loose lead, accepting gentle handling of the dog's body including looking at teeth and ears, off (meaning don't touch), accepting the touch of a stranger, and at least one or two simple tricks such as shake, bow, or roll-over. These are all simple to teach. The whole family should be involved for the greatest effect and most pleasure for the family.

Stacey Gehrman
Ontario, OR

It’s not much different that what any other dog should be taught including the following:

1. The dog should not be in the personal space of family, friends, or strangers without a verbal cue that he has been invited. This is an implied expectation with no need for an "off" command.
2. A verbal cue that it is okay to be in the space of the family, and maybe close friends or in this situation, staffers, when invited and an "all done" command for same.
3. A verbal cue to sit, down, or stand for greeting with strangers if the temperament of the dog tells us this is not too stressful.
4. Crate training.
5. A potty "empty the tank now" command for pee, and for poop if you need to in the near future.
6. Relaxation on a designated easily portable surface.
7. Environmental socialization with all manner of persons. The dog should be able to see them and be happy but, not necessarily interact with, new people, places, and things.
8. Your puppy owns nothing: it is all the possession of the family and he just gets something because the family let him.
   

If every puppy got this from their family, it would be a way better world for both.

Joyce Biethan
Ridgefield, WA
www.joycesdogs.com