There are so many training theories that it’s easy to get very confused. A lot of trainers will tell you ‘do this and this will happen’ but then you try and it doesn’t. For me, the ‘what’ without the ‘why’ isn’t always that helpful as it can leave you floundering when things don’t go as you expected.
The psychology behind learning is very complex but it is possible to condense it into a few key points that will at least give you something to work with yourself, so you can start to understand some of the ‘whys’. I hope this will give you a little knowledge that you can apply a long way!
From the dog’s perspective
The biggest mistake many of us make is to forget to look at things through our dog’s eyes. We expect them to have human understanding and human motivation, and an instinctive concept of our human environment that we expect them to live in. A carpet is to us not only something that keeps our feet warm, it is also something we’ve often chosen for asthetic reasons and that has cost us a lot of money. It is part of the house that we (for reasons that escape me) like to keep clean, so we like to keep our carpets clean too. None of that makes sense to a dog. The carpet is there, it is warm and comfortable and if, as a puppy, you happen to wee on it, what’s the big deal?
We also forget they have dog senses, not human ones. They are drawn by things that we don’t even know are there, especially smells, and can be put off by things we find attractive such as that sweet pea and vanilla dog shampoo (ever seen a dog sniffing a flower that hasn’t been weed on?). And I still think that poo flavoured treats would probably be the answer to many training problems!
The cornerstone of making sure your dog learns what you want him to is to understand how he perceives something and to use rewards that are good for him. Allow your dog to choose their reward. Whatever your dogs gets most excited about; be it food, squeaky toys or verbal praise use it to your advantage. A play obsessed pup will be more likely to work for a game of chase than a food treat. When rewarding, be over the top; theatrical even. If a dog completes a command that you've been trying to teach for a while, or is a particularly difficult one, throw a party! Go wild! Give your dog all of the treats left in the bag!! Use rewards that are set for the challenge. Kibble may be suitable for basic obedience, but you're going to have to get the cheese out for that re-call!
It is also essential to understand what an animal is actually capable of. There is no point asking a very young puppy to hold his bladder for 8 hours, or to ask a deaf dog to come to a verbal command. Be realistic in your expectations and you will be able to expand as you go along. Achieving small things is also brilliant for building confidence.
Learn body language, understand exactly what your dog is feeling and communicating, and use your own body language to your advantage. Dog's are non verbal beings and body language is more important to them than any commands. If your dog is looking unhappy or fearful, alter your method of training. For example, using loud commands with a noise sensitive dog is counter productive and will only create a negative experience for them. Training should be tailored to each individual, and an enjoyable experience.
What’s in it for me
This is the basic principle of learning. We all learn to do things that get us what we want. That can be the obvious, such as food treats or cuddles, but it includes all the stuff that we go through life not even aware of. Big ones that spring to mind with dogs are getting attention and avoiding things they’re not sure of. Day after day, the sequence of action-consequence is repeated time and time again, with our dogs learning that X action is followed by Y consequence, so if you want Y you do X again, if you want to avoid Y then you’d best leave X alone (or make yourself look big so it leaves you alone, but that’s another story...).
In behaviourial science terms, these consequences are called either reinforcers or punishments, and there are 2 of each.
- positive reinforcement is when you get something good
- negative reinforcement is when something you don’t like is taken away, which is also then good (don’t confuse it with punishment)
- positive punishment is when something not nice is added. It doesn’t have to by physical or painful, it just has to be something that is not nice. A cross word is a punishment.
- negative punishment is when something nice is taken away or withheld
The two reinforcers encourage the action to be repeated (do it again so you get something you want), the two punishers are deterrants (don’t do it again to avoid what you don’t want).
I know that’s not always easy to get your head round but if you can it’s worth keeping these points in your mind because each of our responses falls into at least one of those categories, and sometimes more than one.
If you do use ‘punishments’, make sure they are relevant for your dog. Taking a ball away might work for one dog but it may mean nothing to a dog who isn’t all that fussed about toys. Excessive punishments (sending a dog away for 30 minutes when 30 seconds would make the point very well) achieve nothing except an unhappy dog, and violent punishments, including screaming and throwing things, will only teach your dog to be scared of you. You are nearly always better off ignoring unwanted behaviour than using punishment badly.
Setting up to succeed
The best way to teach is through positive reinforcement, so through reward, but you need to make sure the dog does the behaviour you want so you can reward it. There are 3 things you can do that will really help your dog earn his rewards and so learn what it is you want.
- make sure your dog is in the right frame of mind before you start. You might need to burn off excess energy first if your dog is full of it. Also, decide your location and check surroundings to make sure distractions are minimal or within your control.
- manoeuvre the situation so he does what you want. A good example is teaching sit. If you start with your dog standing facing you, by holding a treat up above his head while at the same time walking towards him, you’ll find (90% of the time!) that he will back up a bit by moving his front end back and end up sitting. Bingo. No pushing bum on the floor or endlessly shouting ‘sit!!!’, just creating the situation whereby he does what you want automatically. You can now treat and praise.
- reward the try. If you expect your dog to do something perfectly and only reward him when he reaches the final goal, you can end up waiting a long time and the result will be frustration for both of you. You’ll also switch your dog off – if he gets nothing for trying, what is the point?
Say you want to teach your dog to sit on a mat. He won’t have a clue what you want him to do, but he might look at it. Yes! That’s a great start and there is now something in it for him, so you’ll have his attention. Reward that a couple of times and he’ll soon be looking at the mat to get his treat. You can then build up to sniffing the mat, putting a paw on, standing on it and soon he’ll be going and sitting on the mat when you ask, pleased as you are with what you’ve achieved.
Especially in early training, you can’t break things down too small or reward enough. Think about it, would you go to work to do something you don’t understand and for no pay? Make life as easy and as rewarding as possible. Why else would you want it to be otherwise!
Timing
One more huge element of learning is timing. What is being reinforced is what the dog understands is being reinforced, regardless of what you think it is, and that’s usually what’s happening at the time. Giving a treat or, worse, a punishment that is unrelated in time is generally going to be counter productive. Lots of treats for nothing means they will loose their meaning, and the same with ‘good boy’ for having done diddly squat. Late punishment can lead to a fear of something completely unrelated with the intended target action. One of the most common examples of this is the dog who is scolded for weeing in the house while you’re out. The cowering you get when you come home to another puddle isn’t because he knows the puddle is offensive to you, it’s because he knows to fear you when you come home.
The golden rule is that the action must be the last thing in the dog’s mind for the reward/ punishment to be effective.
Repetition
Very often, it will take more than one go at something for a dog to understand. Even step by step training will take practice, as lessons gradually start to make sense and the dog understands what’s wanted and what he will get for his efforts. If, though, it really isn’t working after say 4 or 5 sessions, then look for another way. Not every animal learns the same thing the same way, and very often it’s the way we are setting up and explaining that isn’t right.
Equally, if you keep practising the wrong thing, or the right thing in the wrong way, then that’s what your dog will learn too. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect but only if your practice is perfect. Many years ago, I had a puppy retriever called Mungo. I was trying to teach him to, well, retrieve! He’d run for the ball, pick it up and then stand there. “Fetch”, I’d say, but nothing happened. Knowing very little about animal training at the time, I rolled my eyes, sighed at how stupid he was being, then went over to him to try again. He’d drop the ball, I’d pick it up and throw it for him to race off again in delight, only for him to then stand there with it in his mouth despite my pleas for him to ‘fetch’. He then started to anticipate. I’d throw, he’d chase and pick it up, I’d call ‘fetch’, and he would drop it, waiting for me to pick it up and throw it again. Forever more, Mungo understood the word ‘fetch’ perfectly. It simply meant ‘drop the ball’, and was later extended to mean ‘drop whatever you have’. Who was the stupid one, him or me?
Be consistent
Everybody in the home should be using the same tones, commands, hand gestures and body language. Write this down and practise together if required. It is much easier for a group of humans to learn how to communicate consistently with a dog than it is for a dog to try and interpret several different humans. Even children should be able to learn if you all work together.
Once a dog has learned a command, use it. Your dog doesn’t understand verbal language other than through the reward based associations you’ve built up. For example with recall, use the chosen command, usually "come", rather than an array of "here boy, c'mon, over here, WOOHOO!" - all that your dog is hearing is "blah,blah, blah, BLAHBLAH".
If something is not acceptable, it should never be acceptable. ‘Sometimes’ is just too confusing for a dog and, if he learns that sometimes a certain behaviour gets him what he wants, it’ll be worth trying again and again. After all, this might be one of those lucky times! Black and white isn’t dictatorial, it’s just clear.
Keep training sessions short
Short bursts will be much for effective than long drawn out sessions. Especially early on in training, aim for 5/10 minute sessions 3-4 times per day. As your dog’s concentration and learning increase, you can build up to longer sessions if it’s appropriate but make sure you don’t overdo it, it’s easy for a dog to become bored or frustrated if you ask too much, at which point he’s likely to start to feel negatively about training in general. If using food as a reward, try to time these sessions before meal times to ensure that your dog is hungry.
Always end on a positive note
This will build up your joint confidence and leave your dog feeling he can do this training stuff. This is especially true if your dog has found something hard – leaving him feeling positive is a great reward in itself and will help him remember his lesson positively. If you didn’t achieve what you wanted, find something else good to finish with instead. Don't always save your most valuable reward until the end, or your dog will look forward to the end of the session!
Written by LizP
|
A Staffy-bull-terrier Frequently Asked Questions |
|
|
Status : 