or your dog, OR, who is this type of training for…what type of
owner.
Of course, both you and your dog are learning. You already
know how to sit, however, so your learning will be in the realm
of how to achieve the desired behavior from your dog. I will
help you learn to break behavior down into trainable pieces, so
that your dog understands what is expected and your
frustration level will be reduced.
Many owners who seek this kind of training will be from varied
backgrounds. Maybe you want a dog that is a polite member of
the family and that is more than enough, or perhaps you want
a dog that is good in public, on and off-lead. Maybe you want
to start training basic obedience as an entrance into some dog
sport, like agility or competition obedience or flyball…or some
combination of the above.
Learning how to teach your dog and your dog learning how to
learn will open possibilities that you may have yet to consider.
training methods?
training?
ways to achieve behavior change without coercion. Operant
conditioning is a learning theory that can quite simply be
defined as learning through reinforcement. If something
reinforcing occurs after a behavior occurs, then the probability
that the behavior will be repeated is increased.
At Thinking Dogs, clicker training is the preferred
methodology. A clicker is a small noisemaker that serves to
mark the desired behavior more precisely than our voice or
words can. Once the dog understands the desired behavior, a
cue (the word ‘sit’, for example) can be added to elicit the
desired response.
exactly?
want to see, we can teach them to enjoy learning, and we can
do this all without punishment.
Operant training has been used successfully in a variety of
animal environments, including zoos and marine parks.
behavior occurring again. This could be food, toys, playing
fetch, playing tug, ear rubs, back scratches, etc.
.
‘bribe’ my dog with
food?
particularly in the learning phase. After the dog has learned
the behavior and it is reliable on cue, food is not necessary
every time the behavior occurs. Remember, however, that we
continue to desire pay after we have mastered a skill, and your
dog might also, so eliminating rewards completely may not be
the best idea, but you can vary your choice of reinforcer.
.
that I am the boss?
conditioning?
training methods?
bad behaviors?
can put in place replacement behaviors that are more
acceptable to you. Many times people know what behaviors
they don’t want, but they don’t delineate what they do want.
For example, we all know that we don’t want our dog to jump
up on us in greeting, but we don’t think about what we would
prefer as a greeting, such as a sit. Learning sit when
approaching for greeting automatically eliminates jumping in
that situation. So you, in effect, eliminate one behavior by
learning another behavior in the same circumstance.
to break a behavior
down into component
parts?
trained to think in this way. If I want my dog to look me in the
eyes, it may not occur to me that I need to encourage a glance
to my face as the first step. I can’t wait to see the complete or
final behavior because it may never be offered in the form that
I want to see it! I need to shape the behavior I seek and this
can be done by starting with an approximate behavior
(glancing at my face) and shaping it into a lengthy stare into
my eyes, bit by bit.
are the controller of all that is good, you can decide what your
dog must do to receive good things. Your dog must earn every
pat, treat, or playtime (e.g., sit before food, wait before
entering a door, sit before throwing a ball, down before an ear
scratch).
‘controlling all
resources’?
outdoors, access to food, access to good sleeping areas,
access to you!
techniques work?
techniques work. The decision to use positive training is not
just based on effectiveness. Research shows that you can
have the behaviors that you want with fewer side effects using
positive techniques.
random behaviors to
get my attention?
he must do some action to gain your attention and the rewards
that come from that attention. The nice thing about your dog
learning cues (sit, stay, down, shush, etc.) is that he will offer
those learned behaviors when you ask for them.
house or in the yard?
in the house might seem very different to them than a sit in the
yard, so we will practice in both places and you will continue to
practice behaviors in as many places as you would like to see
it successfully executed.
