05/06/2020
Positive Techniques that Make Dog Training Fun for the Whole Family
I remember when I was in high-school many, many years ago, our family got two puppies. They were adorable but full of energy and needed to be trained. So my dad and I signed them up for a class that met at night, outside on the trainer’s property. She wasn’t a particularly friendly woman but she came highly recommended by our vet.
The first and last night that we brought the dogs there, she explained that dogs needs to be “broken” of their desire to be the alpha of the household. So one of the ways that you showed the dog that you were boss and not him was to lift the dog by the leash on his neck and hold him there, desperate for breath, until he gave in.
Sadly, many trainers were doing these same horrible things because the common belief of the time was that dogs, like wolves, sought dominance in a pack. It was also around this same time that the very scientist who wrote that dogs were like wolves and sought dominance retracted his findings and wrote that in fact, dogs did nothing of the kind. In fact, they rarely paired into packs unless they were looking for the same food source. He had debunked his own dominance theory.
Unfortunately, many trainers still took years to adjust their training techniques given this new information. After all, us trying to dominate something else and assert ourselves as the highest rung in the pecking order is a very human thing to do. Our egos make us want to be at the top. So if abuse and pain had to be used to get there, then that’s what would be done.
Today, very few trainers train the way they did 30 years ago. Now we know that positive reinforcement training is the way to go. And we also know that dogs aren’t capable of the abstract thought pattern it would take to gain dominance over the family. After all, could you imagine your dog sitting on the couch trying to come up with ways to show you he’s really boss? Absolutely not!
Now we know that dog training is most effective when we set the dogs up for success. It’s very similar to teaching a toddler, which is about how smart the average dog is. When the child gets something right, we give him a gold star, when he gets seething wrong, we try and ask differently so he has another chance of getting something right instead of punishing him for getting something wrong. That which is rewarded is likely to be repeated.
If you wanted to harshly punish your young child for getting something wrong, you could, and the behavior would most likely stop, but what lesson have you taught? That fear and pain will change behavior. Not a very good training foundation. Unfortunately there are trainers who still use some of these methods and think that a dog is just a dog so why not use pain to train? So what are some of the techniques that us trainers use when it comes to positive reinforcement training?
Rewards
The easiest way to get your dog to perform the behavior you’re asking for is to find his currency. Every dog has something that they will work for harder than anything else. For most dogs, this will be food. It may be their kibble, store-bought treats, hot dogs, chicken … Sometimes its even carrots and apples. If you think your dog isn’t food-motivated, try a favorite toy. It may take some trial and error, but there is something out there that your dog loves more than anything.
Verbal Praise
When you’re in the midst of actively training your dog, you’ll be using a physical reward, such as treats, but your verbal praise is just as valuable. In the past, the dog was expected to perform without you having to praise at all. That just sounds awful to me. Even when your dog solidly knows something and has been weened off treats, you still want to at least give a genuine Good Girl or Good Boy so he knows he’s done the right thing.
Short Training Sessions
This is really key to maintaining your dog’s attention. Don’t start training by demanding an hour of full concentration from your dog. It’s just too long for most dogs and can end up being a miserable experience. Start out with a goal of five minutes of training a puppy or 10 minutes with an adult dog. If they seem like they can give more, then add another few minutes on. Practice multiple times day so you can get in about 30 minutes of training a day.
Don’t Push to Failure
This goes hand in hand with the above. If you’re training and your dog starts messing up, stop training. Continuing will lead you to frustration, which you’re likely to take out on the dog. Just end the session on a positive note by asking him to do something you know he knows, then give lots of praise. Working a dog beyond their breaking point was very typical in the past. Trainers would use leash pops to get the dog back in line.
Have Fun
For some reason, it never occurred to trainers 30 or even 10 years ago that training should be fun. No yelling, hitting, pain, fear should ever be needed to train a dog. If tat’s was you rely on as a trainer, you’re in the wrong profession and not a very savvy trainer. Whether your training a family dog or a police K-9 dog, no pain ever has to be used.
Praise and rewards will get you much more from your dog than forcing them into a training session they don’t want to be a part of. So if you plan a session but your dog doesn’t want to wake up or doesn’t want to stop playing with his favorite toy, then have the session later. If you’re in a cranky mood, train once you’re feeling better. There’s no reason why training your dog has to be anything but fun.