Social Referencing
Have you ever seen a child fall, and they immediately look to you for a reaction? If you laugh they laugh back, but if you panic they immediately start crying? This is called Social Referencing. Social referencing is the process wherein children use the affective displays of an adult to regulate their behaviours. In one of the most common paradigms used to study social referencing, an ambiguous and novel object is introduced to infants aged 9-18 months. When the object is introduced to the infants, an adult shows facial emotion (either positive or negative) to the child. Mothers would show disgust in relation to the object and the infant tends to avoid the object and express negative emotions, but when the mother would show happy displays, the child would readily approach the object.
Dogs are also capable of social referencing. In the presence of unfamiliar stimuli or a novel situation, they seek out social information provided by humans (specifically the human they trust). Many times I have seen an owner freak out about a situation which can further exacerbate a dogs negative feelings towards something. Example: an owner is walking their small dog and a strange dog approaches, the owner then panics and displays startled behaviour, picks up their dog, and freaks out at the other dogs owner. In future scenarios, the dog will likely mirror the same emotional responses that the owner did - leading to fearful or reactive behaviour when dogs approach.
Social referencing can be utilized to provide your dog with support and confidence. Calm, clear, confident, and happy attitudes can help create a healthier approach to social referencing, and emotional regulation/ well-being of your dog. Next time your dog encounters a situation that may of been negative, think about how your behaviour and reaction can reshape their feelings 💕
IGP obedience is a specific aspect of the IGP sport that focuses on evaluating a dog's obedience and responsiveness to commands. In obedience trials, dogs are judged based on their ability to perform various exercises, including heeling, sitting, lying down, staying in a place, and coming when called, among others. To excel in IGP obedience, dogs must have a solid foundation in obedience training, as well as a strong bond and communication with their handler. Training and preparation for IGP obedience typically involve consistent practice, positive reinforcement, and the development of trust and teamwork between the dog and handler.
Follow-up sessions are important to us!
Follow-up sessions are important to us! We want to ensure that you and your dog have a continued understanding of each other and that you have the same level of obedience that you had the day of program completion.
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Negative Reinforcement - A commonly misunderstood Quadrant of Operant Conditioning.
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The beginnings of competition obedience heeling
✅ Ensure your dog is active and happy towards you
✅ Use a form of reward that is THEIR CURRENCY
✅ Create desire and positive emotions for the heeling position
✅ reward proper gaiting and position
A great start for 9 month old Bugz 😃
Voraus!
The send out exercise. The last exercise of the IGP obedience routine. The dog must show attentive heeling to the handler, and be in correct position. Once the command is given, the dog must run out immediately with speed and power and show an immediate down when the handler commands the dog.
Dominic and Bolle demonstrate a Voraus at the 2023 WUSV Universal Sieger World Championship.
Sam and her dog Geo came to visit us for a couple days of training this week while they are in town for Sam’s upcoming IGP competition with her other dog, Taz. Sam is creating a lovely focus in basic position. Working on basic position and intensity to the handler is often forgotten when so much emphasis is placed on the heeling itself.
Our spirits need the nourishment of unconditional love that dogs bestow upon us 💕
3 DOG TRAINING tips that will CHANGE YOUR LIFE when it comes to preventing resource guarding
Prevention is better than a cure, am I right? Let’s get to it! Here I will show you 3 DOG TRAINING tips that will CHANGE YOUR LIFE when it comes to preventing resource guarding!
