by Mandy | Mar 19, 2019 | Training advice
Expectations – It’s not what you expect
I’ve been training dogs for over 20 years. Looking back on where I was versus where I am now is still unbelievable to me. I guess deep down I always knew I would be involved with animals somehow, but making it a career in the capacity I have was never on my radar. I’ve developed from a dog owner to a dog trainer…….when did that happen? It happened the moment my then boyfriend, now husband, and I brought home our first puppy. A little Jack Russell Terrier mix named Scooter.
It would be nice if these little thieves of our hearts came to us knowing it all. They don’t. They need to be trained to be appreciated, well mannered, members of our families. So how do make that happen? Well if you are like I was, you muddle through for a while and then realize you need help. You need a dog trainer. You find a trainer (how to do that will be in another post) and arrive at your first lesson or class waiting for the magic to happen. The magic of the trainer to train your dog. WRONG!!!
The expectation of having the dog trainer train your dog is the wrong one. The job of the dog trainer is to coach and teach you how to manage, understand and work with your dog. Are you staring at the screen with blinky eyes? That’s right, the person you just hired is not there to train your dog. They are there to coach you how to work with and understand your dog.
I’ll try to put this into perspective. My Basic Manners class is a 6 week course, 5 of those weeks the dogs are in class. Each class is roughly an hour long. There are a total of 1,008 hours in those 6 weeks, you are with me for 6 of those hours; your dog is there 5. You share the class with 7 other people and their dogs. It is impossible for one person to fully train 8 dogs in 5 hours.
What should your expectation be for something like a group class? You should expect to come out of a group class with a good understanding of basic training skills. You should have an understanding of how your dog learns, what their motivators and reinforcers are, and how to use those tools to get desired behaviors out of your dog. You and your dog should have positive experiences around other dogs and people in a group class. Lastly, you should have an opportunity to practice what is being taught and receive feedback from the trainer.
It really is like school. You come to class to learn the lessons, you go home and do the homework, you come back and show your understanding of the material being taught. The test is your day to day life with the dog. If you aren’t seeing improvement you might need to increase your study time or ask for a tutoring session (private lesson).
Dog training really is about what YOU put into it. It takes time, repetition, and patience to get the well-mannered dog you envisioned. Expect it to be a journey, a journey that will teach you about love, respect, and build a relationship like you never thought you would have.
Train don’t complain,
Mandy Eakins KPA CTP, CPDT-KA, FP-MT
by Mandy | Mar 12, 2019 | Training advice
What is Modern, Force-Free Dog Training?
Here it is….my first official blog post. I’ve got lots of topics to cover as I dive into this project, but I thought it would be best to start with the training method. What is modern, force free dog training?
In short, modern dog training, also called force free dog training, is training without the use of force, intimidation, fear, or pain. The training is about teaching—and learning— through relationship building, trust, respect and understanding.
Understanding is the most important part of dog training. Knowing why your dog behaves in a particular way is the foundation for changing that behavior. I find that most problem behaviors occur because we do not understand why the behavior is occurring in the first place.
Let’s briefly look at how dogs learn. Dogs learn a lot like we do. They repeat what they are rewarded for and they avoid or disengage from what isn’t reinforcing. Need an example?Consider counter surfing. The dog puts his paws up on the kitchen counter and gets a lick of toast crumbs and a dribble of jelly. The dog learns that the kitchen counter is a rewarding place and repeats the behavior. Putting paws on a counter is reinforced by getting a lick of leftovers. Understanding the dog has a certain level of curiosity and if physically able, I think we can all agree, he will at least investigate the counter again.
The traditional way of handling this behavior would be as follows: owner catches dog with his paws on the counter; owner yells or swats at the dog; dog gets off the counter and walks toward owner. The dog repeats the behavior the next day; owner verbally scolds dog for being on the counter, this time with a little collar shake; dog sulks away from the owner. What the owner might notice over time is the dog does not get on the counter in their presence, but still gets on the counter when no one is looking. What has the dog potentially paired the punishment with, their behavior or the presence of the owner? What could be possible fall out from using this approach? Could the dog become fearful of the owner?
You can see where this is going. The dog has paired the punishment with the owner and associating the punishment with the presence of the owner becomes a twofold problem. Certainly the dog may continue to get on the counter when the owner is not around, but the problem is more complex than that. The may may also lose trust in the owner or worse, become fearful of the owner.
A more modern approach to this unwanted behavior would be to stop it before it starts or teach an alternative behavior that is not compatible with getting up on the counter.
Here are some possibilities
- use barriers so the dog is not allowed in the area unsupervised
- teach an automatic sit when the owner and dog are near counters together
- teach the dog to stay behind a threshold or other boundary
- teaching the dog a “go to place” behavior
- be diligent about not leaving potential reinforcers on the counter should the dog decide to investigate
Modern, force free dog training is not about becoming a Pez dispenser of treats. It’s about teaching the animal appropriate behaviors through use of reinforcers the dog finds valuable and managing the environment around the dog while training is taking place. Focus on building a solid relationship of trust and setting the dog up to succeed and learn, not fail and be punished.
Until next time,
Train don’t complain!
Mandy Eakins KPA CTP, CPDT-KA, FP-MT
www.mannersmatterky.com
