Anglo Wulfdogs, Wolfdogs and Wolf Lookalike dogs are very intelligent but independent animals.   They will weigh up the pros and cons before deciding whether or not it is ‘worth’ them doing something;  what I call the “What’s in it for me” attitude.  When training it is worth bearing in mind that if they can’t see the purpose in doing something they will not keep repeating the same monotonous exercise.   Having done something once, if you ask them to do it again their expression is unmistakable: “What was wrong with the first time?   I just did that and am not doing it again.” 

Very few Anglo Wulfdogs will keep blindly retrieving articles for your amusement, although there are exceptions.   Most of mine will bring something back once, but if I am stupid enough to throw it away again then I can just go and fetch it myself!  

They do have a sense of humour and it helps if owners have one too.   I remember one instance when I was doing a retrieve at dog training with “Sky”.   She brought the toy back once and when I threw it again she shot me the “ok, you want to play silly buggers – I can play silly buggers” look, then she ran after the toy.   However, instead of bringing it back to me, she ran down the line of dogs waiting their turn, dropped her toy in front of one dog, quickly snatched their toy and tossed it at me as she ran passed!   She knew full well what was expected of her, but she was bored so adapted the game to amuse herself.   She would often have everyone in stitches at dog training class, making a big exhibition of “killing” the retrieve toy and only bringing it back once she was certain it was “dead”.

So, remember to keep training sessions short and varied, otherwise they will lose confidence and interest.  Always end on a good note.   Always have “high value” rewards.

Now you are prepared for training with a sense of humour we can talk about methods.  Anglo Wulfdogs respond well to “clicker training”, which is reward based and clearly “marks” the required action.   Once introduced to the “clicker” they catch on really quickly, especially if a “high value” reward is used.   (By “high value” I mean something that is valuable to the dog, not the most expensive treat you can buy).    Some dogs, such as GSDs, Border Collies and Spaniels will work well for a ball or toy.   Some Wolf Lookalikes dogs will also work for toys.   However, the majority are food orientated and need something really smelly and tasty as their reward.    I find the treat that works best for my dogs is liver and garlic (recipe below).

Right, you are now armed with your “clicker”, smelly treats and one ‘eager to be rewarded’ dog, let’s get started.  

Recipes for High Value rewards

1. The Sansorrella way:

Take some fresh or defrosted pigs’ liver, place a in bowl and liberally coat with garlic puree.   Cover with ‘cling film’ and pierce the film.    ‘Nuke’ in the microwave, stirring occasionally to make sure it is well coated in the garlic puree.   Cooking time will depend on the quantity being cooked; it can be used soft or hard as the dogs really don’t mind.  Chop into small treat-sized pieces.    It can be frozen in small bags ready for use.   The smell will have every dog in the park wanting to be your friend!

2.  Livercake (for those who want to spend more time on doing it properly)

1lb of pigs liver, 2 eggs, 1 bulb of garlic and 1lb of self raising flour.

Liquidise the liver in a mixer, then add the garlic and eggs and mix together.

Gradually add the flour and mix to a dough – if it gets too dry a little water can be added.

Transfer to a baking dish and microwave for 6 – 8 minutes.  When cool cut into pieces, place in freezer bags and freeze.

NB  The cooking aroma is not to everyone’s taste so maybe not a good idea to cook a batch of treats if you are expecting guests.

Clicker Training

This is the process of training an animal using a reinforcer which indicates to the animal or "marks" the precise behaviour that was correct. It was originally discovered and used with laboratory rats, and later was used in training animals such as dolphins, horses, birds, cats and dogs used in the forces.  The name "clicker training" is used because the primary tool is a small mechanical noisemaker called a clicker.

One of the difficulties in training an animal is communicating exactly when the animal has done the behavior that the trainer is attempting to reinforce.  For instance, consider teaching a dog to back up. Immediately the dog moves backwards, the trainer must let the dog know that it has done the correct thing. However, the traditional "good dog!" takes so long to say that the dog might already have moved on to some other behavior. By the time the dog realizes it is being praised it might be moving forward again, or even sitting and scratching.

Besides the imprecision in timing, using the trainer's voice for information means that the actual signal will vary. The trainer's voice, pronunciation, tone, loudness and emphasis can change even during the same training session.   Training is slowed when the animal has to realize that some variations (loudness or enthusiasm) aren't important while others such as "good dog" vs. "bad dog" are.  A “clicker” solves these problems.