Dog Training in the Modern World
7:54 - October 31st, 2007 /// Posted By admin /// Tags :
The concept of training dogs is no different than with that of humans, gerbils or giraffes. It is all conditioning, plain and simple.
How we do this, however, varies greatly among different belief systems, influenced by our experiences and what we hear from others. One of the greatest single roadblocks in recent and more modern dog training is that trainers and dog owners alike tend to humanize the dog, which, in and of itself, is an injustice.
I ‘m saying that we should play with our dogs, have fun with them and have them as a companion. But I am also saying that looking at Fido as a furry little person actually robs him of what can make him unique to us. He is a dog.
A dog is capable of love, of making us laugh and of giving us undying loyalty that many humans may lack in their lives. For some of these reasons, my dogs are a part of my family. But I never confuse that the needs of my dog are different than mine.
As you get to know me through this blog, my seminars/workshops, articles and through in person training, I am one to simplify. I like to bottom line everything, rather than get caught up in intricate details. Sure, there’s a time to know what the operant conditioning spectrum is, but when I am in the middle of training, I do not talk about whether I am using positive punishment or negative reinforcement, or even think about it. I simplify. And I will help you learn to make it simple as well.
When training, there is a sure fire way to look at things that will increase your success exponentially. I break this concept in to three distinct parts:
- While conscious, dogs are always learning.
- Dogs are either learning what we want them to learn or what we do not want them to learn.
- Our response (or lack thereof) is either reinforcing or correcting. It’s as simple as that!
If a person, from a certified trainer to a dog training hobbyist can fully understand both the simplicity and complexities of the items above, then success is assured. By keeping things simple, communication is much clearer and comes quicker.
In later blog posts I will go in to terminology more in depth, because many people will get hung up on #3, citing times when they are not reinforcing or correcting, or look at the word “correction” as a bad thing. When Fluffy jumps on guests, but I teach her a rock solid “sit” and replace the undesired behavior with the more reliable “sit”, then I am correcting the undesired behavior. Corrections are not the sole property of the heavy handed trainer, but a necessary tool in helping the dog learn.
A “purely positive” trainer that withholds reward can be correcting a dog, but you would be surprised at how many trainers claim that they never correct a dog! As I said before, terminology will be discussed in full in subsequent blog posts.
For now, I will leave you with one final thought on training:
Many times, the breakdown in communication between human and dog is that the human has not visualized what it is that they expect from their dog…they just concentrate on what they do not want. How can we effectively communicate to our dog when we do not know what we are trying to say, let alone trying to figure out the correct language?
As an example, I couldn’t attempt to put together the appropriate words to a person from another country (language barrier) if I do not know what I am trying to get across (visualization error)…but we see this all the time in dog training.
Figure out what you want from your dog. Be honest with yourself as to whether or not you can properly communicate your desires to your four legged friend, and if the answer is “no”, then seek the advice or services from a professional. When I need help in an area that I am not comfortable with (i.e. oil changes and tax preparation) I seek a professional!
It is my desire for this blog to serve as a place for dog lovers from every discipline to come together and share knowledge, whether it is training or psychology and have a grand ‘ole time! We encourage you to post questions or comments, and remember to add us to your frequent reading list!
Training is communicating…what are you communicating to your dog? Brice Cavanaugh
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We have 3 dogs (2 are male). Do you have any experience with male aggression? The “pack leader” issue seems to be in effect at my house!
Speedcat Hollydale
We actually specialize in aggression cases! Feel free to ask any questions you have, private or public, and we’ll see what we can do to help out. Brice
I am enjoying your blog. For many, many years I have said that when we are with our dogs, we are training our dogs. It’s a constant process and they learn from everything we do. I love the new operant conditioning training methods and have switched over to them for the majority of my training. Dogs are not people, no. We have to modify ourselves in order to communicate with our dogs, as they cannot modify themselves to communicate with us. At the same time, dogs are unique individuals with full and amazing personalities that need to be nurtured and understood.