Mine: A Life Lesson that Every Dog Should Know

Just like the A,B,C’s in reading or the scales when learning the piano, “Mine!” is a foundation behavior that prepares your puppy to listen around all sorts of distractions. Consistent Come when called, fabulous Leave Its around food and great loose leash walking all start with “Mine,” because it lays the foundation of paying attention to you around anything the dog wants—through you all good things come. And any dog – any age, any breed, any size – can learn it!

It is taught using simple body language that you already know. Best of all? Once learned, it lasts a lifetime. Now that’s what we call a good investment.

We all know what body blocking means; someone steps in front of us and blocks our path—we know they’re telling us with their actions not to go ahead. What “Mine” does is formalize this and teach your puppy to halt when a human blocks him.

We teach this because ….

• It can save your puppy’s life.
  We’ve had puppy owners call us so relieved that stepping in front of their puppies instantly prevented them from gobbling up spilled medication or spaghetti sauce laced with glass after a jar was dropped.

• It makes him safer with guests and children.
  Because this is a spatial “command”, not a verbal one, your dog can learn to respond to anyone who steps toward something he wants—they don’t need to know the “right” command word. Recently, we got a note from a young mother. Through a series of typical marital miscommunications, her toddler ended up near her dog while the dog was eating. Before the mother could get there, her baby had both hands in her dog’s food bowl. What did her dog do? Step back, sit and look at the mother, tail wagging. Good dog! And good mother for teaching her dog “Mine!” so thoroughly.

• It makes other training easier.
  Once you and your pup understand this game, you can use it to teach coming away from distractions and back to you, looking at you instead of grabbing the food off the ground, waiting patiently at an open door and much more.

Do:

• Have your puppy on leash and have small, tasty treats in your pocket (or within easy reach).
   
• Bend your knees a bit then toss a large biscuit (or stale bagel or piece of bread) behind you.
   
• When your puppy goes for it, block him with your body. Be confident! Be clear!
   
• Pretend you are saving him from certain death (the edge of a cliff – a busy highway – something poisonous).
   
• The MOMENT he pauses in any way, smile, praise, then give a treat or two. Stay alert, he may try to cut around you again. Be ready to block again, then reward.
   
•  Everyone feels awkward and unsure at first. Never mind, just try it.
   
• If your dog gets the item or is hard for you to control, try playing this in a doorway or with your dog tethered or toss the treat into a corner of the room. All those things make it easier for you to succeed, and that’s what we want.
   
• Put your foot between you and the item before you bend to pick it up. This helps prevent your dog from racing you for it.
   
• Have your kids do this once your dog is working well for you. Tether your dog if he is large and your child is small. Also, stand behind your child at first so you can help and so your dog understands the game a bit better. Once that is going well, then have your child do it on their own – but always under adult supervision.
   
• Teach this to all puppies, but be especially vigilant with toy, giant and bad-rap breeds. Toy breeds need it so they learn early and well to stay out of people’s way. A human misstep or a stumble can injure (or worse) a tiny toy. Giant breeds because they are going to be huge and have to learn early to respect our space. And “bad-rap” breeds need to be twice as polite to be seen as half as gentle. So get to work!

Don’t:

• Don’t worry about it if the dog gets the treat. Just learn from it.
• Don’t let your dog push you around or back you up. Work in a doorway and stay in the doorway when you block your dog or put a piece of tape on the floor and stay on the tape. Using such a clear marker at first makes it easier for you to hold your ground.
   
• Don’t give up! Any dog who is this hard for you to block really needs this lesson! Think of it as you telling a child not to touch a plate of cookies on the counter and then she shoves you out of the way to gobble some down. Not good. Tether your dog and practice some more. If you’re still not getting the success you want, come to our message board community. We’re there to help.

by Sarah Wilson, MySmartPuppy.com