training notes and tips

Luvk9s Dog Training, LLC

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POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT TRAINING

The theory behind traditional dog training was the belief that the best way to train a dog was to correct the dog when he was doing something wrong. If he was pulling on his leash, a painful jerk (while wearing a choke chain or pinch collar) was given to correct the behavior. If a dog jumped up on a person, the person was instructed to knee the dog in the chest. If there was a wet spot on the rug, the dog was roughly reprimanded, pushed down to the floor, and punished by having his nose rubbed in the wet spot. The idea was that if bad things happened, the behavior would disappear. This caused an undue amount of stress on both the dog and the pet owner.

Fortunately, in the early 1980's, positive reinforcement training became popular and pet owners learned how incredibly effective, easy and fun training this way could be! The dog was now rewarded for performing the right behaviors, which made him happy to repeat the good behavior. Positive training does not mean permissive. Positive trainers prefer to use "negative punishment"- taking away something the dogs wants - rather than "positive punishment" - adding an aversive the dog does not want. Positive trainers also believe in the generous use of management to stop the dog from practicing undesirable behaviors - in short, setting the dog up for success.

ADVANTAGES OF PRT (POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT TRAINING)

Your dog learns to think and figure things out, working with you as a team.
Your dog learns he can make good things happen by offering behaviors you like.
Positive training is fun for both you and your dog.
Positive training avoids methods that have the potential to cause stress and injury to your dog.
Positive training allows you to develop a relationship with your dog based on affection and trust.

DISADVANTAGES OF AVERSIVE BASED TRAINING

Training with physical corrections (choke or pinch collar) can cause physical pain and/or injure your dog.
Use of aversive techniques can damage the dog's confidence, as well as his trust in and relationship with his human.
Some dogs will associate the pain with whatever happens to be nearby - another dog or a child perhaps - which may result in future aggressive behavior towards dogs or children.
The behavior may return when the aversive stops.
Punishment can suppress desired behaviors and inhibit offered behaviors. The dog learns it is safest to do nothing.
Punishment shuts down the behavior, but doesn't teach the dog an appropriate behavior to use in its place.
The dog learns not to do the behavior when you're there, because the punishment only happens when you're there to deliver it.

USE OF FOOD AS A REWARD AND WHY IT'S SO EFFECTIVE

Using food and/or treats to motivate and train your dog is one of the most powerful tools you have at your disposal! Most breeds of dogs are incredibly food motivated. How often have you pulled out one of your dog's favorite food treats, only to have your dog perform his entire repertoire of tricks, without your even saying a word? DOGS LOVE FOOD!

An amazing thing that scientists have discovered is that food can be used to “rewire” a dog’s brain to actually make him feel good about, for example, responding to commands such as sit, down or come. The use of food is also commonly used when trying to desensitize and counter-condition how your dog feels about scary objects, dogs or people. In short, most of our senses (sight, sound) are routed to the cortex (the analytical part of our brain), but the sense of smell is routed to the amygdala in the limbic system, which is the emotional part of our brain. Have you ever wondered why smelling pine trees makes you feel warm and fuzzy about Christmas? Or why the smell of home-baked cookies makes you think affectionately of your grandmother baking cookies? Smell and emotion are strongly linked, and there is currently quite a bit of research underway to study how this can be used to help humans…..as well as dogs! For specific, detailed information on how powerful the sense of smell actually is, see Tim Jacob’s, (Cardiff University, UK) tutorial on the sense of smell:

http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/biosi/staffinfo/jacob/index.html

Tim Jacob’s research shows that:

Strong odors are associated with food
The sense of smell is directly linked to areas of pleasure (or displeasure) in the limbic system of the brain
Using food teaches the brain to feel good (ask dog to sit, pull out piece of chicken, dog smells chicken before even seeing it, feels good, starts to associate sitting with feeling good)
The brain is actually rewired
Eventually, the food can be cut out

Patricia McConnell, PhD, author of FOR THE LOVE OF A DOG, says this about the use of food in training: “If your dog learns to associate the good smells of food with sitting when you ask, then you’re teaching his brain to feel good when he listens to you. This is one of the reasons you can use food to get a behavior started, and then drop it out once the behavior has become a habit. You don’t need to carry dog treats around in your pocket for the rest of your dog’s life, because you’ve wired his brain to associate listening to you with feeling good. If, on the other hand, you train primarily using force…you’re missing out on a remarkable opportunity to condition a primal, positive association between obedience to you and his reaction to good food”.

Trainers often hear their client’s state that their dog isn’t food motivated, which is sometimes the case. But often, a specific food might not be effective because it is not “high value” enough. If your dog is not responding to his kibble, a dry dog biscuit, or a piece of carrot, try using hot dogs or a very aromatic piece of steak, fish or chicken.

If your dog won’t take a treat, try to determine if:

Your dog is too distracted. You may need to try a higher-value treat. If the really high value treats do not work, move your dog to a less distracting environment and train there – and slowly work your way back up to working in the higher distracting environment.
Your dog is too full. It is usually best to train your dog on an empty stomach. If need be, use another type of reward such as touch, play or tone of voice.
Your dog is stressed. Try to reduce your dogs stress level by distancing yourself from what is stressing out the dog. Try dropping treats on the floor (instead of asking him to eat them out of your hand).
Your dog is not feeling well. You probably shouldn’t be training.

You should always verbally reward your dog whenever he does what you ask. In addition, studies have shown that the best way to maintain a behavior is to intermittently treat your dog.

If you want to vary the rewards you give your dog, try using one of these “back-up” rewards:

A game of play - chasing a ball, chasing you, playing a game of tug
Petting, touching, stroking or massaging your dog
Talking and cooing at your dog in a cheerful tone of voice
Clapping your hands and cheering
Laughing
Smiling
Using a verbal marker and/or praise: “Yes, good dog!”
Using life rewards. Your dog sits - he gets his dinner. Your dog waits at the door - he gets to go on a walk. Your dog makes eye contact ("watch me") - he is released to go sniff the bush. Your dog does a down - you toss the tennis ball.

DOG TRAINING TIPS

Many behavioral issues are a result of poor socialization. Socialization involves exposing your dog to friendly people, dogs, and other animals, as well as new sights, sounds, scents and situations. Socialization should begin before pups leave the litter, is critical up to 4 months of age, and should be continued throughout your dogs' life.
Acknowledge your dog's good behavior. All too often we ignore the good behavior and only pay attention to (and accidentally reinforce) the bad behavior.
Be consistent! Don't allow your dog to jump up on everybody, but then reprimand him for jumping up on your grandmother.
Knowing a few basic obedience cues will make your life with your dog much more enjoyable. Helpful cues to teach your dog include come, sit, down, heel (loose leash walking), stay, leave it and watch me.
Keep training sessions short and sweet (and fun!) Several one minute training sessions are much more productive than one long twenty minute training session.
When teaching your dog a new behavior, start in a quiet environment. Gradually add distractions to build confidence and concentration.
Managing the environment is just as important as training to address behavior issues.
Dogs need both mental stimulation and physical exercise - a tired dog is a good dog!
There are many behaviors that dogs just do - dogs bark, dogs jump up, dogs roll in smelly stuff, dogs urine mark, dogs dig, dogs chase, dogs sniff and dogs hunt. These are not behaviors to be fixed, but behaviors to be managed.
Be aware of instinctual behaviors your breed of dog was born with - herding dogs will nip, guarding dogs will protect, hunting dogs will chase.
Dogs are a very social species and have an inborn need for close and regular interaction with their social group. Dogs do not do well being crated or left alone for excessive periods of time. Many behavior issues evolve due to dogs being bored and lonely.
Practice being a benevolent leader and ask your dog to work for things he wants. Have your dog "say please" (sit or down) before providing him with meals, treats, toys, petting, games, walks, car rides and playtime.
Remember that dogs are dogs, not little people in fur coats! All too often we anthropomorphize, which is the act of assigning human traits and motivations (unfairly) to our dogs.
Remember your dog is always learning, whether or not you're involved.