Dog training is a way to communicate with another species. Just as we learn to understand a dog’s body language, so can a dog learn to understand the signals we give. We speak different languages than dogs, so please remember it takes time to learn each other’s language. Dogs mostly speak with body signals & we use words. Most trainers I have used teach to never label a command till your dog is doing it consistently at least 3-5 times. Hand signals & guiding a dog into position is used in positive training. Some dogs are food motivated, some love praise, petting or toys & any or all these can be used when training using positive reinforcement.
Positive reinforcement is defined as adding something your dog likes to increase behavior (such as food, toy or praise).
Today we have options of methods to use to train our dogs. There are now decades of empirical evidence & extensive studies that have shown that positive training methods work. They have shown there is no need for painful aversion in training. No longer are pinch, prong or shock collars a good way to train, at best they are effective on a limited basis at worse they are abuse/painful. Many say they are a training tool, but long after the dog should have learned what it is they were teaching, they are still using it, so did it really help teach the dog?
Advantages of using Positive dog training methods:
- Does not lead to a fearful dog.
- Dogs do not have to feel pain/correction in order to learn, pain increases stress & stress reduces ability to learn.
- Does not lead to agression.
- Does not lead to unwanted behaviors.
- Poor timing by trainer doesn’t lead to collateral damage-only slows the time it takes to learn behaviors.
- Teaches a dog what to do, versus hoping they figure out what the correct behavior is.
- Dogs feel more relaxed & may become more willing to try agility, learn new tricks.
- Create leadership in the owner-therefore strengthening the bond between owner & dog.
- Training is fun & enjoyable for both dogs & the owner.
- The dog builds trust for the owner, & feels secure & safe.
- Builds confidence in the dog, especially for those with a not so good past.
Disadvantages
- It takes time to teach, not a quick fix.
- Timing for reward training has to be immediate (3 seconds or less).
- It takes patience, but the reward when it clicks for your dog is worth it
Timing:
If you reward your dog for laying down your dog is going to lay down more in hopes of a reward. We all repeat what we get rewarded for. You wouldn’t go to work if you didn’t get a paycheck. On the other hand if your dog laid down & you waited 10 seconds to reward your dog, it may not understand what the reward was for. He may be thinking it was because I wagged my tail, or looked at you or some other behavior. So this is why timing is so crucial in dog training. You want to reward the desired behavior within 3 seconds, it takes practice to get this down pat. Some people find that using a clicker to mark the behavior helps, or using a marker word like “yes” to signal the desired behavior while you are getting the reward, especially if it is not in your hand at the exact moment. My dogs know yes is a good word & means good things.
Rewards can be a variety of things, not always food, praise, a scratch behind the ears, playtime, fetch, a favorite toy given, attention, time on the sofa or bed. When training using food rewards, it is highly recommended as your dog gets good at any command that you gradually faze out the food reward. Dogs don’t forget & will continue to do the asked command & every so often you should treat wanted behaviors to reinforce the behaviors.
Those who come against positive only training methods claim that dogs trained using positive only ways won’t respond properly unless they smell or see a treat. They also claim that positive trained dogs behaviors are not reliable under variable circumstances. All though these claims are untrue, & this is demonstrated each day by hundreds of service dogs, therapy dogs, search & rescue dogs, competition dogs & dogs that perform on TV & in movies.
Parts of the above information was taken from an article by: Rodrigo Tigosso V.
Something to think about:
Many countries such as Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Wales, France, Spain, Sweden, Finland, part of Australia, & Quebec Canada have banned the use of aversion training collars such as Prong/pinch, choke or shock collars due to them being considered inhumane.
The dog above was “Molly” a foster dog of mine (Poodle/Golden mix) who came to us at about 9 months old & she was trained using a shock & a prong collar & they former owners claimed she knew all obedience/manners like sit, lay, stay, etc. I soon realized she knew none of these things, she did what she had to prevent pain from being jerked with a prong collar or shocked. She needed a lot of help to get over her insecurities, especially when she went to a new obedience class. Her new owners enrolled her in a positive only class, but her fears of what happened at previous classes would come out & she was anxious & hard to get her to focus for a while. I believe they did some private classes with her till she felt secure & safe again. Her owners think she may always have some insecurity due to the early months of her life, but they love her & she is a good travel dog.
The dog above was my dog Sydney & she was abused before I got her (her former owner admitted to kicking her & pulling her off the bed & other things). She was just 3 yrs old when I got her. She so scared it took me 3 months to get her to walk down my driveway. I took her to a variety of positive classes, obedience 101 & 102 & she always finished top of her class. She built confidence & we would try new classes & new things, the more she learned the happier she became & the more things & places we could go. She was scared of some men, assuming they reminded her of her abuser, but she learned to trust some men. I honestly can’t tell you how much it warmed my heart to see her come out of her shell & to enjoy life. I say this because I want you to know if you have used negative training methods for whatever reason, you can start today & incorporate positive methods. A dog whether it is 1 or 10 years old, can still learn new things & you can help build a great trust & confidence in your dog. There are a lot of great positive only trainers out there. I will soon publish a post as part of this series to help you locate a great positive trainer.
It is pretty obvious that I believe in training a dog in a gentle matter & see no need to use aversion or painful methods to teach. I wouldn’t want to be taught anything with pain as the motivator, it would stress me & make it hard to concentrate & not want to hurt/resent the person teaching me.
I hope you are enjoying my blog posts & are learning some things as well. My goal is to reach as many pet owners as possible so more pets can thrive & not just survive. Our pets are family to many of us & we want is best & some people just aren’t aware of things & I want to spread the word & use my 20+ years of pet foster care & a life time with pets. Please help me spread the word by sharing this on your blog, social media, etc… Please subscribe so you don’t miss future published posts, visit often, click the like button at the bottom of each post. This is my 99th published post & you can find a table of content with a list of all my published posts titles on my home page. Under the 3 lines under show in the upper left corner. You can find those you want to read & then scroll down to that post from the home page. If you have an idea for a post you can comment or send me an email. My email is echoinggreatpetcare@gmail.com Thanks for reading, hope to hear from you soon, Debbie
Echoing Great Pet Care 