Proactive versus Reactive Dog Training

     Have you ever wondered how to correct or punish an undesirable behavior in your dog?  I see dozens of people posting on websites daily to vent their frustrations.  Almost every dog owner has had to deal with issues before, so here is one option that may help.

Photo courtesy of the Greater Charlotte SPCA

     Change how you are thinking about the problem.  A question I see posed very often is "How do I correct my dog for  ________?"  That means you have already acknowledged that the undesired event will occur again.  The Oxford Dictionary defines "Reactive" as "acting in response to a situation instead of creating or controlling it."    If you do not have control over the situation or environment that created the undesirable behavior, then you need to consider removing the dog (and possibly yourself) from it altogether.

     If instead we focus on what can be done to prevent a repetition of the behavior, not only does this course of action yield more consistent results, but the bond between human and canine remains unclouded by misused or misunderstood gestures of "punishment" or "correction".

     If your 4 month old puppy suddenly begins chewing on your couch cushions instead of his/her own toys, a "correction" should not be what you first seek.  At that age, the dog does not yet know what is or is not allowed.  It has not been alive long enough to establish consistent patterns, and is (hopefully) learning new behaviors every day for which it is getting praised.  Punishment should not be the first choice of responses.

     Consider instead what else can be done to prevent the situation, or to change it if it is occurring.  A new rule of "No puppies on the couch" may be all that is needed to remedy the rouge chewing.  The couch as a resting place can always be introduced later as a reward.  I find leaving a leash on if the pup is loose in the house is an easy way to help restrict them from choice areas.  Spend more time praising your dog for behaviors that you like seeing.

Maple and Morgan hanging out in the sun

     Knowing that chewing is another way for dogs to release energy, increasing exercise should be another option.  Add an extra training session during the day.  Play fetch.  Record a movie of your dog performing all the tricks it knows and send it to your friends.  Go for a walk.  Visit a pet store.  Learn a new skill.  The options are endless.  A tired dog will chew significantly less.

     If cuddling on the couch always leads to a cushion in the mouth, and you just don't want to sacrifice the warm fuzzy feeling of your pup on the couch, consider keeping a stash of toys within reach.  As soon as Fido's nose goes toward the cushion, put a toy under that nose!  If you were not paying attention, missed your timing, and are still unwilling to put the pup on the ground, you need to be willing to have some drool and missing pieces of couch cushion.

     For help with proactive thinking and training, please feel free to contact me directly at pawsthenplay@gmail.com

     Happy Training!

   

The "Tuck" Dog Training

     One of my students and I have been playing a "new" game!  Don't tell Stormi, but it's really the same thing, just asking her to adapt, and rewarding slightly different behaviors.  This method is called "shaping".  Any behavior whether it is desirable or not, can be shaped by rewarding the changes you like, if you time your rewards correctly and consistently.

     Stormi has already mastered her basic commands.  I chose to build on her "Lie Down" command, since I want to encourage her to relax.  She naturally will choose to tuck one front foot, or another when she is lying comfortably.  I rewarded (I used her kibble from meals since she is very food motivated) her for lying down when I looked at her first, so there was a default behavior to start with.  Her entire first session was simply rewarding her for lying down and staying down.  No words, since I would be adding the commands later, when she was performing the actions I wanted.


     The next time I worked with her, she automatically lay down as soon as I brought out the food.  I began to reward her when she shifted her front feet, either one.  Over the next two sessions, she was very willing to move her feet, it almost looked like she was swimming backwards!  Very cute.  I began to label her right and left as she moved them, rewarding each time.  If I stared at one foot, she would move it automatically to tuck.  Many dogs are much more observant than we give them credit for, it helps them to tie in a visual cue along with the verbal.

     The next session, I began asking for "Right" or "Left", looking at the paw I wished her to move.  At this point, she was comfortable with the exercise, and would sometimes just guess, and swing a paw back without paying attention to which one I asked for.  I never rewarded her for moving the wrong paw, simply waiting, staring at the one I asked her to move until she performed correctly.


     Soon I decided I wanted both paws to "Tuck".  Since Stormi is very responsive to my eye movement, I knew she could figure it out!  And she certainly did not disappoint.  We began the session easily, I called a "Right", "Left", "Left" (and rewarded one kibble for each) and then just waited.  I stared at the paw that was closest to me, which she tucked.  But instead of rewarding, I shifted my gaze to her other paw.  She switched, and tucked it.  I shifted my gaze again.  Stormi was confused, and stood up and walked in a circle.  I simply waited.  We went through the same motions again.  After she lay down again with a sigh, she tucked the first paw, I shifted my gaze again... she huffed, and shifted her weight awkwardly.... then moved her other foot!  I quickly dropped several pieces of food and praised!

     From there she proceeded quickly to moving both feet back immediately but they were still not fully tucked.  I "jackpotted" (gave several pieces as reward) many times in a row to encourage her.  Then I began to wean back on the reward until we were at just one piece at a time again.  What had been holding Stormi back is that she had been startling herself by tapping her back foot with her front foot when she "swam" her second paw backwards, because of the way she was laying.  Once she figured out how to maneuver her body to where she could tuck both paws comfortably, she had it!

     The next session, I labeled "Tuck" when both paws were folded.  After that session, it was just a matter of putting it all together- going back to review and strengthen the labels I had already set in place for "Right" and "Left".

     For this particular dog, I like this position because it takes a bit longer for her to jump up should she be startled.  Stormi and her people are still working diligently on her impulse control.  Teaching this position makes her more aware of what her body is doing, and shows her that she can control each part.  And of course, any training that requires thinking, and strengthens the bond between her and her people is not only fun, but a benefit for the dog!

     As always, if you have any questions of comments, please feel free to contact me!

     Happy Training!

Training Timelines

     As part of my life's work as a dog trainer and Canine Behavioral Consultant, I sit down with clients and prospective clients to discuss what plans and goals they have for their companions.  More often than not, I hear frustrated tales of how these loving pet parents have read or heard that their objectives should have been achieved by a certain span of time.  This is not always the case.  In the real world, there are no "magic buttons", and the "quick fixes" can often have unintended ramifications in the long run.  

     When I sit down to talk about how I can help a pet owner navigate a particular situation, I am always completely honest about the effort and time that would be necessary to get there.  This is a critical part of determining the success of any venture.  People must be made aware of what options they have, what they are committing to do, and approximately how long it will take. If not, disappointment will occur before any solution is met.  A resolution can always be reached when the involved parties are well enough informed.  

     The majority of dogs (and some cats too) can be successfully introduced to a brand new command in just a few moments.  In order for it to become a lifelong habit however, it must be continually re-enforced in the presence of controlled stimuli until the reaction to the command becomes muscle memory.  No one that I know (and I know a lot of extremely talented individuals) has the ability to look into a crystal ball and tell you exactly how long YOUR dog will take to adopt a freshly introduced behavioral pattern, or how long it will keep to the pattern.  

     Many of the trainers that I have encountered who have a promise or guarantee for behaviors within a set period of time are referring to how long it will take THEM (the trainers) to get the desired results, not how long it will take to make it work in the client's home.  One of the facilities I worked at specialized in just that- we took the dog for a set period of time to initiate new behaviors in the hopes that the family would be able to duplicate the results consistently at home.  

     In the case of in-home training, many of the "Quick-Fixes" are the roots for long-term issues that crop up 6-9 months after the visit(s).  For example, did you know that improper use of a pressure collar (a head halter / Gentle Leader, Sporn, pinch, or choke chain are some commonly known pressure devices for canines) can not only injure your dog permanently, but can cause overly forward body posture that other dogs interpret as aggression?  There can be huge difference between the perception of what is being sold, to the reality of what is being delivered.  

     I sometimes use an analogy to help describe to my students what to expect.  Consider how long your parent(s) guided you.  Think of how many years human children are supervised closely.  So why are we continually surprised when after a few short weeks or months, a dog will make incorrect choices?

     Timelines are fine for goal-setting.  But like most plans, once the action has begun, be ready to toss them out the window!  Expectations must continually be adjusted to conform to reality.



*For help understanding your dog please feel free to contact me.  pawsthenplay@gmail.com 

     

Watching Behavior

     When  I tell people I am a Behavioral Consultant for Canines, there is always a pause.... and then they ask "So what, you train dogs?"  Well, that's part of it. I began my journey as a Dog Trainer.

Directing Brutus to run in a particular direction.

     An Animal Behavioral Consultant needs to have a solid foundation with many different forms of training not only to know what works, but also why.  Only by working in the field (of dog training) can one gain the necessary experience to accurately identify what types of methods will most likely be most effective for a particular dog.  Not all learning styles are compatible to all canines OR their owners.  Part of what I do is clarify for clients what methods are most complimentary to the handler, dog, and household structure.

     Today the norm is positive reinforcement training.  I wholeheartedly agree that this is the correct way to begin bonding and teaching your dog.  When praise and rewards are given consistently, stellar results can be achieved!  Some canines only have minimal response to this method however.  Others have only been partially exposed to this style, but not consistently enough to have reliable behavior, and there are many unfortunate dogs that have obstacles in their past that must be overcome in order to be able to learn new information.  This is where I come in.  Alternate methods are available, but the correct method must be chosen per dog, and per household.  It then must be implemented correctly to be effective.

     Another aspect of my career is to evaluate canines.  An evaluation is not just for rescue dogs.  It is useful information for all dogs and their owners. It is typically more accurate because it is an objective view of the dog's reaction to stimulus.  When an owner says "Fifi doesn't like her crate!" it sometimes means the owner doesn't like the crate.  A behavioral consultant has enough background knowledge that they can correlate behaviors to innate canine reactions- not human projections of emotions.

     What happens in an evaluation is not a "test", it is simply observing and recording reactions of the canine to stimulus in a structured environment.  The reasons it is typically more accurate than an owner's observations are two-fold.  An evaluation is stripped of emotion.  It is an assessment of what is actually happening- how the dog is moving, where, at what speed, etc.  In a professional evaluation there is no mention of "How the dog feels" about something, so no assumptions are made.  The other reason is that the environment is controlled to the point where only one stimulus is encountered and recorded at a time.

The puppy flattens her ears and approaches slowly.

     An Evaluation delivers unbiased observations of what the dog was seen to do at that time.  In my evaluations I also include explanations of what the behavior demonstrated means in the context it was displayed, and what training may benefit the animal based upon what I had observed.

     Most trainers are only well versed in one particular type or style of training, and thus accustomed to seeing a certain set or sets of behavior.  A Behavioral Consultant can assess a wide variety of behaviors in different settings.

     If you would like to understand more of your dog's behaviors, please feel free to contact me!