Cynologist
Cynology: Puppies DogsArchive for the ‘Behaviour and Training’ Category
Since behavior modification is the process of extinguishing one behavior and replacing it by building another behavior, you will need some skills and tools with which to do this. The following are the skills, tools, and concepts we will need for the process.
Deferment. Deferment refers to a for- mal exercise where your dog accepts your direction for either vocal or food reward. You practice deferment every time you practice your obedience commands. Deferment is also part of your leadership protocol described in chapter 5, which will be instrumental in prevention of behavior problems.
Negative reinforcement / confinement. You can't withhold your dog's paycheck ... or can you? Once the basic household requirements have been taught to the dog (through obedience commands) your dog may be placed on a rewards system. The better he adheres to the rules of the house the more freedoms he may earn. And the opposite also holds true—you can use freedoms and rewards removal.
Thought path / behavior pattern. Imagine your dog's thoughts like a train. Once the train starts down the tracks it is following a "thought path." If your dog's thoughts begin down the wrong track (behavior problem) the train needs to be switched and put Read more [...]
Mixed-Message Behavior Problems
In chapter 5, we discussed what constitutes a mixed message. These situations are activities that reduce the owner to the level of a dog and activities that elevate your dog to the level of a human.
The confusion and related stress that mixed messages cause is so powerful that these mixed-message situations are often the root cause of many behaviors. Mixed messages will at the very least dilute your effectiveness as a leader and at the most cause your dog to actively reject your leadership (e.g., become aggressive towards you).
So often smaller dogs are invited to sit on their owner's lap and get adored. Now without putting too fine a point on the meaning, you have just established who the leader is and who is to play the servant. Basically your dog is sitting on a human throne.
Un-mix the role. Teach your dog to be a dog. Dogs must remain on the floor. Your dog must be off the couch, chairs, and laps. No bed sleeping, either! When you want to interact with your dog, get down on the floor. Pet your dog while your dog is at your side, not on your lap. Your dog should walk on the ground and not ride in your arms.
Un-mix the rules. Stop rough play with your dog. No wrestling or tug-of-war. Read more [...]
There are two potential reinforcements with the HEEL command: reinforcing the HEEL zone and reinforcing the automatic SIT. We will begin with reinforcing the HEEL zone.
Give the command HEEL and begin walking (slow pace first). As long as your dog's head is in the HEEL zone, praise with "good HEEL." Once your dog's head reaches the outer boundary of the zone, give a quick corrective snap (toward the HEEL zone) with NO and re-command HEEL. Once your dog's head returns to the zone, praise.
Do not use the leash to restrict your dog's movements. This is called TOWING because you are literally towing your dog around. Towing your dog is cheating! If he doesn't maintain the zone on his own, give a NO correction and re-command HEEL Praise when he returns to the zone.
Review the leadership meaning of HEEL described in chapter Establishing Leadership. If you let your dog too far out of the HEEL zone prior to correcting, you may end up giving more corrections instead of one properly timed correction.
Another redirection tip is to remember that there is no part of the HEEL zone in front of your left leg. If your dog begins to curve his head in front of your left leg, correct outward to your left and re-command.
The second reinforcement Read more [...]
The HEEL command is the first and most important command to teach your dog regarding "following the leader." Heeling not only means that he is walking nicely on a leash for you, but more important, it means that he's following you as a leader, paying attention to you, and walking with you, not against you. Only when your dog is following you well and paying clear attention at HEEL will he be able to listen to you through other commands and distractions.
To teach the HEEL command, hold the dog on your left-hand side and walk in a left circle. By walking in a left circle, your body motion keeps "herding" your dog left. This consistent left and slightly backwards motion will encourage your dog to remain at your left side in the proper HEEL zone.
Begin this exercise by walking very slowly. Baby steps or half strides may be necessary to achieve the slow pace necessary for your dog to maintain the proper position. Most dogs will learn HEEL at a reasonable pace; however, exuberant dogs will require a very slow pace until they learn the concept.
How big should this circle be? Most dogs will learn HEEL in a circle about fifteen to twenty feet across. More exuberant dogs will need a smaller circle only five to ten feet across. Read more [...]
In the wild a dog can roam free and exercise himself.
In the city you have to make sure he gets enough exercise by walking him and Playing with him. Professional dog walkers are fine, but if you walk your dog yourself, the experience will be far more rewarding.
A six-foot leash is fine and its purpose is not only to keep your dog from running away, but also to teach him that he is to stay by your side. Every client is taught how to walk his dog properly. The dog should walk and not pull you down the street.
Ideally, your dog should now know enough to sit and stay when he's told to. But what's to keep him at your side when you're actually walking him? If you can't answer that one, you are in for some unpleasant experiences.
One woman's two great Danes pulled her down the street three times a day until the dogs saw a cat on the other side of the street. A strikingly beautiful girl, who never owned even one dog bought two English setters to promenade in the park. One day both dogs headed for the same telephone pole, and each dog opted for a different side...
Heeling is as important for your dog as it is for you. Which of us hasn't seen a small dog straining against his leash at a 45-degree angle, choking and gagging Read more [...]
It is best to hold off teaching your dog to lie down until after you have him coming to you on command. This way, you stand a better chance of not having him confuse the command with "sit" or "stay." The three are fairly similar, after all, so it's better to separate these commands in time so that he understands they are separate and distinct.
The "down" command is a relatively easy one, but for some strange reason, it tends to be something many dogs are obstinate about. Often you will find that when you tell your dog to sit and stay, after a while he will get tired and lie down, but when you tell him to lie down, he will refuse. Make sure that your dog learns that you mean what you say, and that "sit" means sit only.
Teaching the dog to lie down is a much easier operation than "come."
Most of the teachings are relatively easy. They just eat up a lot of your patience.
The first thing to do is to sit yourself down comfortably on the floor facing your dog, who should also be sitting. Place one hand on his upper back and the other behind the lower part of his front legs.
Give the command "down," and at the same time, push down on his back and pull his legs out from under him-very carefully so that he doesn't think Read more [...]
In my opinion, the command “Come” is the most important of all the commands that your dog can learn. When he has mastered this command, you can have complete confidence that, no matter what, he will always return to your side when you want him to do so. Once he learns this command perfectly, he is ready to perform the more complex ones, as he is now under your control at all times.
At the same time, learning to come gives him the security of knowing that, until you call him, he is free to roam without being uncertain as to what's expected of him.
The best, and easiest, time to get your dog to respond to the command “Come” is between the ages of six weeks and four months.
Indians knew and used this principle when training their dogs. They carried their puppies with them constantly from as early an age as possible. This way the dog learned to look on them as a parent figure and obey them completely. This type of behavior in animals is known as imprinting, and it seems to be an inborn instinctive process on which an animal's survival depends. Animals must learn as early as possible where their protection lies and thus to what species they belong. But a dog's critical marking period, during which time he will Read more [...]
"Sit" and "stay" should be taught at the same time. We assume "no" has already been drummed into his head. Then teach the command "come," as he should know this as early as possible, and only then "lie down" and "heel." All these commands should be taught in this order, either on a leash or in a confined area, until perfect control is shown. Then, after you have perfect control of the basic commands both by voice and hand, you can teach your dog to come to you outside and to heel off a leash.
Your first investments should be a collar and training leash. They aren't absolutely indispensable for training work, at least not at first, but they do help even the most obedient dog understand much quicker that you're boss. You will definitely need a leash and collar for later training, and for going outside. If you have any doubts about controlling your dog during a training session, the leash will eliminate them. Get the problem of adjusting him to a lead over with, so you can devote your full attention to having him obey.
I see no justification for the spiked training collars that are frequently sold, which bite into the dog's neck at the slightest tug of the leash. I have only one, which I removed from a clients dog who Read more [...]
In the park, I once met a woman in her sixties whose dog was playing amiably with other canines. All of a sudden she barked, "Come, King" in a voice that would have befitted an army drill sergeant.
She explained that the dog had been trained by a man with a deep voice and the dog would respond to her only if she shouted in this manner. I told her that certain trainers believe that a deep, loud voice is necessary in getting dogs to obey, but this is not so-she could retrain the dog to her own natural voice if she wanted. I think this particular woman likes having an extra range to her vocal chords.
However, when dog owners ask me what tone of voice to use in giving commands to their dogs, I tell them to use their normal tone.
There is no magic in the male voice. One woman told me that her dog only responds to men because of their deep voices. I told her dog to "stay" in a high falsetto, and he did. As long as he's trained, your dog will respond. I have even helped people, with their larynx removed, to have well-behaved animals.
Repetition and authority are very important. One of the big secrets is doing whatever exercise you want the dog to do over and over. Gradually he accepts it as something you want him to do, Read more [...]
From time to time the more serious reviews find Space for discussion of animal intelligence, the psychology of the dog especially coming under consideration, mainly. I suppose, because, he is one of the most sagacious of animals, and because opportunities of observing his habits are more numerous. The study is interesting in more ways than one. To those of limited imaginations such a subject may seem wholly trivial and unworthy, but psychologist know better. The rise of the evolution theory teaches that there is no absolute break between man and the higher animals in the matter of mental endowment, says Professor Baldwin, and that what difference there is must itself be the result of the laws of mental growth. The Professor further Points out that the animal fulfils as far as can be the same sort of function as a man. " He has his environment, both physical and social ; he works under the same laws of growth which man also obeys ; his mind exhibits substantially the same phenomena which the human mind exhibits in its early stages in the child. All this means that the animal has as good right to recognition as a mind-bearing animal, so to speak, as the child ; and if we exclude him we should also exclude the child. Further, Read more [...]