Your dog’s ability to learn and
retain information just like yours is directly related to what goes on round him
and how he feels. A noisy and distraction-filled environment makes it difficult
for Buddy to concentrate on learning new commands. Strife in the household may
cause Buddy to become irritable and even aggressive, which can impede the
learning process. Even what you feed your dog has an effect on his ability to
learn.
How Buddy feels, both mentally
and physically, influences his ability to learn. If he feels anxious,
depressed, or stressed, learning and retention decrease in direct proportion to
the degree of the dog’s distress. If he’s physically ill or in pain, he can’t
learn what you’re trying to teach him. These bservations are stating the
obvious — just think how you’d react under similar circumstances. Yet we need
to point them out because some dog owners often seem to be oblivious to their
effect on the dog’s ability to learn.
As Buddy’s teacher, you play a
key role in his learning process and not just because you’re giving him the
physical instruction. You also have to create a positive training atmosphere
that maximizes his chances for success by easing any stress that can get in the
way. Some of that stress comes from within Buddy, and you can alleviate that part
by tending to his unique emotional and physical needs. The rest comes from you,
so you have to examine what you bring to the table as a trainer. Setting
realistic expectations and crafting a consistent training regimen go a long way
toward creating a pleasant experience for both you and Buddy.
Managing the Dog Within
Even though some principal
influences on your dog’s ability to learn are under your control, some
influences come from within your dog:
✓
Breed-specific behaviors
✓ Temperament
✓ Mental sensitivity
✓ Responses to visual stimuli
✓ Sound sensitivity
✓ Touch sensitivity
All these influences affect how
the dog learns, what he finds difficult, and what comes almost naturally.
Breed-specific behaviors
Whether you have a designer dog,
a dog of mixed origin, or a purebred, he comes with some breed-specific
behaviors, such as hunting or herding, among others. These behaviors, in turn,
have been further refined. Some dogs hunt large game, others hunt small game,
and yet others hunt birds.
Some hunt close by, and others
hunt far away. Some herd and guard, and others just herd; some were developed
to herd cows, and others, sheep.
By studying the task or tasks for
which a particular dog was bred, you can get a pretty good idea of what’s going
to be easy and difficult for your dog to learn. Most terriers, for example, are
lively little dogs because they were bred to go after little furry things that
live in holes in the ground. Shetland Sheepdogs like to round up kids, because
they were bred to herd. Pointers are bred to finger the game; Retrievers bring
it back (see Figure 3-1); and Spaniels flush it. Each one has its own special
talents.
Dog breeders of purebred dogs
hardly ever select their breeding stock from working dogs these days. Instead,
most dogs are bred to have correct ear or tail set or to have their eyes,
faces, and bodies to look just so. Then there are the breeders who create
designer dogs, such as Labradoodles, Goldendoodles, and Puggles, by
purposefully breeding many breeds together. These dogs are very cute, but they
have no predictable behavioral traits. The same is true of mixed breed dogs.
However, you can begin to understand what makes your dog tick.
Because most dogs were bred to work with or under the direction of man, these
talents help with your training efforts. But sometimes the dog’s instinct to do
what he was bred for gets him into trouble. You may not want him hunting or
herding or whatever, so you have to spent some of your training efforts
redirecting these behaviors. Whenever you run into a roadblock in your training,
ask yourself, “Is that what this dog was bred to do?” If so, it will take him
more time to learn that particular exercise, and you have to be patient.
Temperament
Most people readily agree that
good temperament is the most important quality for pets. Unfortunately, the
explanation of exactly what good temperament is often gets vague and elusive,
and sometimes contradictory. The official breed standard of most breeds makes a
statement to the effect that the dog you’re considering is loyal, loving,
intelligent, good with children, and easy to train. If only that were true!
Simply defined, temperament is
made up of the personality traits suitable for the job you want the dog to do.
If you want your dog to be good with children, and your dog has that
personality trait, then he has good temperament.
He may not do so well in other
areas, such as guarding or herding, but that may not be what you were looking
for.
Similarly vague and elusive have
been attempts to define the dog’s intelligence. Again, it goes back to function.
We define a dog’s intelligence as the ease with which he can be trained for the
function the dog was bred.
You can better understand your
dog’s temperament if you have a sense of his drives (prey, pack, flight, and
fight).
You need to recognize your dog’s
strengths and limitations because they have a profound influence on the ease or
difficulty of teaching your dog a particular task. Circus trainers have an old
saying: “Get the dog for the trick and not the trick for the dog.” Exploit your
dog’s strengths.
Mental sensitivity
Dogs, like people, vary in their
ability to deal with negative emotions. No matter how they cope, most dogs are
keenly aware of your emotions. Moreover, the more you work with Buddy, the
greater bond you’ll develop. It may seem as though he can read your mind. Okay,
he may not be able to read your mind, but he certainly senses your emotions. If
you’re feeling frustration, disappointment, or anger, Buddy can sense it.
Because dogs are ill-equipped to deal with these emotions, they tend to
become anxious and confused, which then slows or even prevents the learning
process.
Your job in training Buddy is to
maintain an upbeat and patient attitude. As your dog’s teacher, you must teach
him what you want and don’t want him to do. Without your guidance, your dog
simply does what comes naturally to him he’s a dog! Blaming Buddy for what you
perceive to be a shortcoming on his part doesn’t help and undermines the very
relationship you’re trying to build.
Responses to visual stimuli
Saying that a dog responds to
visual stimuli is a fancy way of saying that a dog responds to moving objects.
For purposes of training, it relates to the dog’s distractibility when faced
with something that moves. This, too, varies from breed to breed and depends on
the nature of the moving object. Consider a few examples:
✓ Terriers are notoriously
distractible. Our Yorkshire Terrier, although technically a member of the Toy
Group, was convinced that he had to investigate every moving leaf or blade of
grass. Although this made perfect sense to him, it made training him to pay
attention a real challenge.
✓ In the Hound Group, some breeds,
such as Afghan Hounds, Borzois, and Salukis, called sight hounds, aren’t much
interested in objects close by. Instead, they focus on items far away. Other
breeds, such as the Basset Hound, Beagle, and Bloodhound, are more stimulated
by scents on the ground or in the air than by moving objects. Training a Beagle
to walk on a loose leash while paying attention to you and not sniffing the
ground can be a Herculean task.
✓ The guarding breeds, such as the
German Shepherd, Doberman Pinscher, and Rottweiler, were bred to survey their
surroundings — to keep everything in sight, as it were. They, too, find it
difficult to focus exclusively on you in the presence of distractions.
Remember, their job is to be alert to what’s going on around them.
✓ The weavers of the Canton of Berne
used the Bernese Mountain Dog as a draft dog, drawing milk carts to the
marketplace. As a breed, moving objects don’t usually excite these dogs. After
all, it would hardly do for the little fellow to chase a cat with his wagon
bouncing behind him.
✓ The Newfoundland, an ordinarily
sedate companion (see Figure 3-2), becomes a raving maniac near water with his
instinctive desire to rescue any and all swimmers, totally disregarding the
fact that they may not want to be rescued.
Sound sensitivity
Some dogs have a keener sense of
hearing than others, to the point that loud noises literally hurt their ears.
For example, our 5-month-old Dachshund puppy gets quite upset when the vacuum
cleaner is turned on. He’s not afraid of the machine itself; he’s just upset by
the noise. He finds it difficult to focus on his lessons if a machine is
running at the same time. Similarly, one of our Landseers used to leave the
room anytime the TV was turned on. Fear of thunder also can be the result of
sound sensitivity.
Under ordinary circumstances,
sound sensitivity isn’t a problem, but it can affect the dog’s ability to
concentrate in the presence of moderate to loud noises. A car backfiring causes
this dog to jump out of his skin, whereas it elicits only a curious expression
from another dog.
Touch sensitivity the adrenaline effectA dog’s threshold of
discomfort depends on two things:
✓ His touch sensitivity
✓ What he’s
doing at the particular time
For purposes of
training and for knowing what equipment to use, you need to have some idea of
Buddy’s touch sensitivity. For example, when a dog doesn’t readily respond to
the training collar, he’s all too quickly labeled as stubborn or stupid. But
nothing could be farther from the truth. The trainer has to select the right training
equipment.
Discomfort
thresholds tend to be breed specific. For example, we’d expect that a Labrador
Retriever, who’s supposed to be able to cover all manner of terrain, as well as
retrieve in ice-cold water, would have a high discomfort threshold. Shetland
Sheepdogs tend to be quite touch sensitive and respond promptly to the training
collar. What one dog hardly notices makes another one change his behavior. And
therein lies the secret of which piece of training equipment to use.
Touch sensitivity
isn’t size related. Small dogs can have just as high a discomfort threshold as
large dogs. Nor is touch sensitivity age related. A puppy doesn’t start out as
touch sensitive and become touch insensitive as he grows older. Some increase
in insensitivity may arise, but it’s insignificant. A dog’s touch sensitivity,
however, is affected by what he’s doing. In hot pursuit of a rabbit, his
discomfort threshold goes up, as it would during a fight.
We call this
phenomenon the adrenaline factor.
When you have an idea of Buddy’s discomfort
threshold, you know how to handle him and the type of training equipment you
need.
Stressing the Effects of Stress
Stress is a byproduct of daily
life and can result from many factors health, family, your job, the state of the
economy, the state of the country, or even the state of the world. Even
pleasurable experiences, such as taking a vacation, can be a source of stress.
Stress is a physiological,
genetically predetermined reaction over which the individual, be it a dog or
person, has no control. Stress is a natural part of everyone’s daily lives and
affects each person in different ways. Dogs are no different. Just like people,
they experience stress. As your dog’s teacher, you must recognize the
circumstances that produce stress and its manifestations and know how to manage
it.
Your personal experiences with stress help you relate to what your dog
is experiencing. Learning the signs and symptoms isn’t difficult when you know what
you’re looking for.
Understanding stress
In both dogs and people, stress
is the body’s response to any physical or mental demand. That response prepares
the body to either fight or flee. Stress increases blood pressure, heart rate,
breathing, and metabolism, and it triggers a marked increase in the blood
supply to the arms and legs.Stress takes its toll on the body, be it a person’s
or a dog’s. When stressed, the body becomes chemically unbalanced. To deal with
this imbalance, the body releases chemicals into the bloodstream in an attempt
to rebalance itself. The reserve of these chemicals is limited; you can dip
into it only so many times before it runs dry and the body loses its ability to
rebalance. Prolonged periods of imbalance then result in neurotic behavior and
the inability to function. When the body’s ability to counteract stress has
been maxed out, stress is then expressed in more than just physical ways: It
mani-fests behaviorally and physically. This is as true for your dog as it is
for you.
Mental and physical stress ranges
from tolerable all the way to intolerable that is, the inability to function.
Your interest here lies with your dog’s stress experienced during training,
whether you’re teaching a new exercise, practicing a familiar one, or
administering a test, like the Canine Good Citizen test. You need to be able to
recognize the signs of stress and manage the stress your dog may experience.
Stress is characterized as both positive and negative. When stress is
positive, it manifests itself in increased activity; when it’s negative, it
results in decreased activity. The following list explains both:
✓ Help, I’m
hyperactive! Positive stress results in hyperactivity. Your dog may run around,
not be able to stay still or slow down, not pay attention, bounce up and down,
jump on you, whine, bark, mouth, get in front of you, anticipate commands, or
not be able to learn. You may think your dog is just being silly and tiresome,
but he’s actually exhibiting coping behaviors.
✓ Why
am I so depressed? So-called negative stress causes lethargy, with related
behaviors such as lacking energy, being afraid, freezing, slinking behind you,
running away, responding slowly to commands, showing little interest in
exercise or training, or displaying an inability to learn.
In new
situations, Buddy gets behind you, seems tired and wants to lie down, or seems
sluggish and disinterested. These aren’t signs of relaxation; they’re the
coping behaviors for negative stress.
Recognizing the symptoms of stress
In dogs, signs of either form of
stress — positive or negative — are muscle tremors; excessive panting and
drooling; sweaty feet that leave tracks on dry, hard surfaces; dilated pupils;
and, in extreme cases, urination, defecation (usually in the form of diarrhea),
self-mutilation, and anxiety.
Anxiety is a state of
apprehension and uneasiness. When anxiety is pro-longed, two problems arise:
✓ The dog’s
ability to learn and think is diminished and ultimately stops. It also can
cause a panic attack.
✓ Anxiety depresses the immune system,
thereby increasing the dog’s chances
of becoming physically ill. The weakest link in the chain is attacked first. If
the dog has structural flaws, such as weak pasterns (the region of foreleg
between the wrist and digits), he may begin to limp or show signs of pain.
Digestive upsets are another common reaction to stress.
In and of itself, stress isn’t bad or
undesirable. A certain level of stress is vital for the development and healthy
functioning of the body and its immune system. Only when stress has no
behavioral outlet when the dog is put in a no-win situation is the burden
of coping borne by the body. The immune system then starts to break down.
Origins of stress intrinsic and extrinsic
Intrinsic sources of stress are
inherited and come from within the dog. They include structure and health. Dogs
vary in coping abilities and stress thresholds. Realistically, you can’t do
much to change your dog — for example, you can’t train him to deal better with
stress. But you can use stress-management techniques to mitigate its impact
(see the section “Managing Stress” later in this chapter).
Extrinsic sources of stress come
from outside the dog and are introduced externally. They range from the diet
you feed your dog to the relationship you have with him. Extrinsic sources
include the following:
✓
Frustration and indecision on your part
✓ Lack of adequate socialization
✓ The dog’s
perception of his environment
✓ Training location
✓ Use of an appropriate training
method
Fortunately, all these sources of
stress are under your control (see the later section “Managing stress”)
Relating stress to learning
In some instances, Buddy just
doesn’t seem to get the message. These situations can arise at any time,
especially when you’re working with distractions. Nothing you do works, and you
feel that you’re not making progress.
When you train Buddy, you can’t prevent him from experiencing some
stress, but you can keep it at a level at which he can still learn. If you find
that your dog is overly stressed during a training session, stop the session.
(One indicator of when Buddy has had enough is that he no longer takes a
treat.) At that point, your dog’s ability to learn is diminished, and neither
of you will benefit from continuing.
“What can I do?” we’re often
asked. “If I stop, Buddy will think he has won and he will never do it for me.”
This line of thinking presumes that you and Buddy are adversaries, in some kind
of a contest, such as, “You’ll do it no matter what.” Not exactly a
“teacher/student” relationship!
Training Buddy has nothing to do
with winning or losing, but with teaching. You can walk away from a training
session at any time, whether or not you think you’ve been successful. When you
see that no further learning is taking place, stop! If you don’t and you insist
on forcing the issue, you’ll undermine both your dog’s trust in you and the
relationship you’re trying to build.
Let Buddy rest for four hours and try again. You’ll find that the light
bulb suddenly seems to turn on. By having taken a break at that point, you give
latent learning — the process of getting the point through time — a chance to
work.
Our advice is to quit training
when you find yourself becoming irritable or when Buddy starts to show signs of
stress.
Stress and distraction training
Prepare to be patient when you
first introduce your dog to training with dis-tractions. Naturally, Buddy is
going to be distracted (that’s the point!), but over time, he’ll learn to
respond correctly. If you feel yourself becoming distraught, it’s time to take
five.
Try to make every new exercise or distraction a positive experience for
your dog. A favorable introduction will have a positive long-term impact. The
first impression leaves the most lasting impact. Whenever you introduce your
dog to a new exercise or distraction, make it as pleasant and as stress free as
possible so that it leaves a neutral, if not favorable, impression.
Managing stress
Become aware of how Buddy reacts
to stress, positively or negatively, and the circumstances under which he
stresses. Something you’re doing, or even a location, may cause him stress.
Understand that Buddy has no
control over his response to stress he inherited
this behavior — and that it’s your job to manage it as best as you can. Through
proper management, Buddy will become accustomed, with every successful
repetition, to coping with new situations like a pro.
Managing Your Dog’s Environment
Your dog has a keen perception of
his environment. Continuous or frequent strife or friction in your household
can have a negative impact on your dog’s ability to learn. Many dogs also are
adversely affected by excessive noise and activity, and may develop behavior
problems.
Look for the following signs that
your dog has a negative perception of his environment:
✓ Aggression
✓ Aloofness
✓ Hyperactivity
✓ Irritability
✓ Lethargy
Under these circumstances,
learning is reduced — if it takes place at all — and the dog won’t retain the
lesson. However, if you have a keen perception of how your dog responds to his
environment, you’ll more easily attain your training goals. This section
provides some tips on creating for your dog the best possible environment for
learning.
Starting on the right foot
You’ve heard the saying “You
don’t get a second chance to make a first impression.” You also know that the
first impression leaves the most lasting impact. The stronger that impression,
the longer it lasts.
Introductions to a dog’s new experiences need to be as pleasant as
possible. For example, Buddy’s first visit to the vet needs to be a pleasant
experience, or he’ll have an unpleasant association with going to the vet. Have
the doctor give him a dog treat before his examination and another treat at the
end of the visit. The importance of making a good first impression applies to
your dog’s training as well. A particularly traumatic or unpleasant first
experience can literally ruin a dog for life. The object is to make your dog’s
first impression of training as pleasant as you can.
Recognizing your dog’s social needs
Dogs are social animals that
don’t do well when isolated. For example, if you work, you may have to leave
your dog alone at home. Then when you get home, your dog is terribly excited
and wants to play and be with you. But you also may need to go out in the
evening, leaving your dog alone again.
If you simply don’t have the time
to give your dog the attention he craves, consider doggie daycare. Your dog
will spend his day playing and interacting with other dogs and having a good
time. Perhaps the best feature, depending on your perspective, is that when you
pick up Buddy on your way home, he’ll be too tired to make many demands on you.
In addition to keeping Buddy entertained and amused, many doggie daycare
facilities provide other services, such as bathing, grooming, and training.
A potential downside of doggie
daycare is that Buddy may think it’s playtime whenever he meets another dog,
making him difficult to control around other dogs. Other potential downsides
are possible exposure to disease and parasites, trauma due to inexperienced
handling by daycare personnel, and personal liability for Buddy’s actions.
As with any behavior, when it comes to exercise, your dog has a certain amount
of energy. After Buddy has expended that energy, he is tired, and tired dogs
have happy owners. If that energy isn’t expended, it may redirect itself into
barking, chewing, digging, house soiling, selfmutilation, and similar behaviors
— clearly not what you have in mind for the well-trained pet.
Identifying your dog’s emotional needs
Whether dogs have emotional needs
depends on whether you accept that dogs have emotions. We believe they do, and
here are some of them:
✓ Anger
✓ Apprehension
✓ Depression
✓ Fear
✓ Happiness
✓ Joy
✓ Sadness
You can see your dog exhibit some
of these emotions, such as joy and happiness, on a daily basis, but what about
sadness and depression? Dogs react with the same emotions that people have over
the loss of a loved one, be it a member of the family or another dog.
For some 30 years, we’ve always
had more than one dog, at times as many as ten. When one of them died, the dogs
closest to that dog unquestionably experienced grief. One pair — Cato and his
older sister, Cassandra — was particularly close. When Cassandra died, Cato
showed all the signs of clinical depression.
At the time, Cato was 7 years old
and had been retired from a successful dog show career. Because Cato really
enjoyed going to dog shows, we started showing him all over Canada to get him
out of his depression. And it worked. He competed for another three years and
finally retired for good at the age of 10.
How can you tell whether your dog is experiencing any of these negative
emotions? Pretty much the way you can tell with a person. If your dog mopes around
the house, doesn’t seem to enjoy activities he previously enjoyed, is lethargic,
isn’t particularly interested in food, and sleeps a lot, chances are, he’s
depressed. Under those circumstances, he may not feel much like training.
We frequently see dogs with
anxiety, apprehension, and fear — behaviors that can be hereditary or
situational. Whatever the cause, training such a dog requires a great deal of
patience and an understanding of how difficult it is for him to learn. On the
other hand, the rewards are significant because, through the structure of
training, the dog’s confidence increases, sometimes to the point at which these
behaviors disappear altogether.
Feeding your dog’s nutritional needs
The most important influence on your
dog’s ability to learn, and the one under your most immediate control, is what
you feed him. Because feeding is so important, we devote Chapter 4 to this
topic. Nutrition is the fuel that runs Buddy’s engine. Poor fuel provides a
poor performance, so understanding how to feed Buddy correctly avoids stressing
his system by providing enough nutrients for it to work properly.
So many dog foods are on the
market today that making the best choice for Buddy can be a bewildering task.
Just as you do when buying food for yourself or your family, you need to look
at the ingredients. Dogs are carnivores and need animal protein. Select a food
that lists an animal protein, such as chicken, beef, or lamb, in the first
three ingredients. Avoid foods containing a lot of filler. When it seems that
more comes out of your dog’s rear end than went into the front end, you can
safely bet that the food contains more filler than protein.
Understanding the “You” Factor
Several factors influence how
successful you’ll be in turning your pet into a well-mannered companion. Some
of these are under your direct control, and others come with your dog or come
from his surrounding environment. We discuss the factors that are out of your
control in the earlier sections in this chapter. Here in this section, we
explain those that are under your direct control. A direct relationship exists
between your awareness and understanding of the following factors and your
success as your dog’s teacher.
Knowing your expectations
Most people have varying ideas of
what to expect from their companions. Some of these expectations are realistic;
others aren’t. You’ve heard people say, “My dog understands every word I say,”
and perhaps you think yours does as well. If it were as easy as that, you
wouldn’t need dog trainers or training books. Sometimes your dog may seem to
really understand what you say. However, if a dog understands every word his
owner says, why doesn’t he do what he’s told? Still, enough truth does exist to
perpetuate the myth. Although dogs don’t understand the words you use, they do
understand tone of voice — and sometimes even your intent. Scientists have
found that words used in the same tone of voice and inflection and with the
same body motions allow a well-trained dog to learn to the capacity of a
2-year-old child.
Are your expectations realistic?
Do you believe your dog obeys
commands because he
✓ Loves you?
✓ Wants to please you?
✓ Is grateful?
✓ Has a sense of duty?
✓ Feels a moral obligation?
We suspect that you answered yes
to the first and second questions, became unsure at the third question, and
then realized that we were leading you down a primrose path.
If your approach to training is based on moral ideas regarding punishment,
reward, obedience, duty, and the like, you’re bound to handle the dog in the wrong
way. No doubt your dog loves you, but he won’t obey commands for that reason.
Does he want to please you? Not exactly, but it sometimes seems like he does.
What he’s really doing is pleasing himself.
Buddy is usually interested in only one thing: What’s in it for me right
now? Buddy certainly has no sense of duty or feeling of moral obligation. The sooner
you discard beliefs like that, the quicker you’ll come to terms with how to
approach his education.
Are your expectations too low?
Do you believe your dog doesn’t
obey commands because he
✓ Is stubborn?
✓ Is hardheaded?
✓ Is stupid?
✓ Lies awake at night thinking of ways
to aggravate you?
If you answered yes to any of
these, you’re guilty of anthropomorphizing, or attributing human
characteristics and attributes to an animal. It’s easy to do, but it doesn’t
help in your training.
Dogs aren’t stubborn or
hardheaded. To the contrary, they’re quite smart when it comes to figuring out
how to get their way. And they don’t lie awake at night thinking of ways to
aggravate you — they sleep, just like everybody else.
What should your expectations be?
So why does your dog obey your
command? Usually for one of three reasons:
✓ He wants something.
✓ He thinks it’s
fun, like retrieving a ball.
✓ He has been taught specific
behaviors.
When he responds to a command for
either the first or the second reason, he does it for himself; when he responds
for the third reason, he does it for you.
This distinction is important
because it deals with reliability and safety. Ask yourself this question: If
Buddy responds only because he wants something or because it’s fun, will he
respond when he doesn’t want something or when it’s no longer fun? The answer
is obvious.
The well-trained dog responds
because he has been taught. This doesn’t mean
you and he can’t have fun in the
process; just make sure the end result is
clearly understood. When you say,
“Come,” there are no options, especially
when his safety or the safety of
others is involved.
Knowing your attitude
Look at the following situation:
Buddy has taken himself for an unauthorized walk through the neighborhood.
You’re late for an appointment but don’t want to leave Buddy out on the
streets. You frantically call and call. Finally, Buddy makes an appearance,
happily sauntering up to you. You, on the other hand, are fit to be tied, and
you let him know your displeasure in no uncertain terms by giving him a
thorough scolding. Ask yourself, “Is this the kind of greeting that will make
Buddy want to come to me?” If the answer is no, then stop doing it, no matter
what.
Don’t train your dog when you’re irritable or tired. You want training
to be a positive experience for your dog. If you ever get frustrated during
training, stop and come back to it at another time. When you’re frustrated,
your communications consist of “No!” “Bad dog!” “How could you do this?” and
“Get out and stay out!” You’re unhappy, and Buddy is unhappy because you’re unhappy.
An unfriendly or hostile approach doesn’t gain you his cooperation; it
needlessly prolongs the teaching process. When you become frustrated or angry,
Buddy becomes anxious and nervous and has difficulty learning. A better
approach is to train Buddy when you’re in a better frame of mind. You want
training to be a positive experience for both of you.
One of the commands you want
Buddy to master is to come when called. To be successful, remember this
principle: Whenever your dog comes to you, be nice to him. Don’t do anything
the dog perceives as unpleasant. No matter what he may have done, be pleasant
and greet him with a kind word, a pat on the head, and a smile. Teach your dog
to trust you by being a safe place for him. When he’s with you, follows you, or
comes to you, make him feel wanted. (See Chapter 10 for more information.)
You may ask, though, “How can I
be nice to my dog when he brings me the remains of one of my brand-new shoes,
or when he wants to jump on me with muddy paws, or when I just discovered an
unwanted present on the carpet?” We can certainly empathize with these questions,
having experienced similar scenarios on many occasions. We know how utterly
frustrating a dog’s behavior can be. What we have discovered and accepted is
that, at that moment in time, the dog doesn’t understand that he did anything
wrong. He understands only your anger — but not the reason for it. As difficult
as it may be, you have to grin and bear it, lest you undermine the very
relationship of mutual trust you’re trying to achieve through training.
Being consistent with commands and tone of voice
If any magic is involved in
training your dog, it’s consistency. Your dog can’t understand “sometimes,”
“maybe,” “perhaps,” or “only on Sundays.” He can and does understand “yes” and
“no.” For example, you confuse your dog when you encourage him to jump up on
you while you’re wearing old clothes but then get angry with him when he
joyfully plants muddy paws on your best suit.
Dogs often pick up consistent
cues from unexpected sources. For example, before leaving for work, Mary always
put Heidi in her crate. It wasn’t long before Heidi went into her crate on her
own when Mary was about to leave.
“What a clever puppy,” thought
Mary. “She knows that I’m going to work.”Dogs often give the appearance of
being able to read your mind. In actuality, by observing you and studying your
habits, they learn to anticipate your actions. Because dogs communicate with
each other through body language, they quickly become experts at reading yours.
What Heidi observed was that,
immediately before leaving for work, Mary invariably put on her makeup and then
crated her. Heidi’s cue to go into her crate was seeing Mary putting on her
makeup. Then one evening, before dinner guests were to arrive, Mary started
“putting on her face.” When Heidi immediately went into her crate, Mary
realized the dog hadn’t been reading her mind, but had learned the routine
through observation.
Consistency in training means handling your dog in a predictable and
uniform manner. If more than one person is in the household, everyone needs to handle
the dog in the same way. Otherwise, the dog becomes confused and unreliable in
his responses.
Most dogs eventually ignore commands that don’t lead to tangible consequences.
When Buddy responds to a command, praise him. When he chooses not to respond to
a command he has been taught, correct him.
So does this mean that you can
never permit your puppy to jump up on you (or do some other sometimes
permissible behavior)? Not at all. But you have to teach him that he may do so
only when you tell him it’s okay. But beware:
Training a dog to make this
distinction is more difficult than teaching him not to jump up at all. The more
black-and-white you can make it, the easier it will be for Buddy to understand
what you want.
Outlasting your dog — be persistent
Training your dog is a question
of who is more persistent — you or your dog. Some things he can master quickly;
others will take more time. If several tries don’t bring success, be patient,
remain calm, and try again.
How quickly your dog will learn a
particular command depends on the extent to which the behavior you’re trying to
teach him is in harmony with the function for which he was bred.
For example, a Labrador
Retriever, bred to retrieve game birds on land and in the water, will readily
learn how to fetch a stick or a ball on command. On the other hand, an Afghan
Hound, bred as a coursing hound that pursues its quarry by sight, may take many
repetitions before he understands the command to fetch and then responds to it
each and every time. A Shetland Sheepdog, bred to herd and guard livestock,
will learn to walk on a loose leash more quickly than a Beagle, bred to hunt
hares.
Knowing to avoid “no”
As of right now, eliminate the
word “no” from your training vocabulary. All too often, no is the only command
a dog hears, and he’s expected to figure out what it means. No exercise or
command in training is called “no.” At one of our training camps, one of the
participants wore a T-shirt depicting a dog greeting another dog with “Hi. My
name is ‘No, No. Bad Dog.’ What’s yours?”You need to avoid negative
communications like “no” with your dog because they undermine the relationship
you’re trying to build. Also, don’t use your dog’s name as a reprimand. And
don’t nag your dog by repeatedly using his name without telling him what you
want him to do. If you find yourself in a situation where it’s imperative to
interrupt Buddy’s behavior, use the word “stop” instead.
Begin to focus on the way in which you communicate with Buddy. Does he perceive
the interaction as positive or negative, pleasant or unpleasant, friendly or
unfriendly? How many times do you use the word “no,” and how many times do you
say “Good dog” when interacting with your dog? Our experience has been that by
the time we see the dogs, most have been no’ed to death. Everything the dog
does brings forth a stern “Don’t do this,” “Don’t do that,” or “No, bad dog.”
Negative communications from you have a negative effect on your dog’s
motivation to work for you.
In dealing with your dog, ask
yourself, “What exactly do I want Buddy to do or not to do?” Use a do command
whenever possible so that you can praise your dog instead of reprimanding him.
You’ll notice a direct relationship between your dog’s willingness to cooperate
and your attitude. Get out of the blaming habit of assuming that Buddy’s
failure to respond is his fault.
After all, you are his teacher!
Your dog’s conduct is a direct reflection of your teaching.
Does this mean you can never use
the word “no”? Not exactly. In an emergency, you do what you have to do. But
remember, do so only when in dire need.
Repeating commands
In training, use your dog’s name
once before a command to get his attention, as in “Buddy, Come.” The quickest
way to teach your dog to ignore you is to use his name repeatedly — and raising
your voice doesn’t help, either. When trying to communicate with someone who doesn’t
understand English, shouting doesn’t improve their understanding.
Get into the habit of giving a command once and in a normal tone of
voice a dog’s hearing is 80 times better than yours. By repeating commands, you
systematically teach your dog to ignore you, and changes in inflections from pleas
to threats don’t help. Our experience has been that most people are unaware of
how many times they repeat a command. Give the command, and if your dog doesn’t
respond, show him exactly what you want him to do.Giving a dog a short name, or
even changing his name can change his behavior, as strange as that sounds. We
had a student who had a rescue dog named Trouble. She worked with Trouble for a
long time and made a very good show dog out of him. Her complaint was that he
always looked downtrodden and unhappy. We suggested renaming him — at first
just when she worked him — and then gradually in his daily life. His name was hanged
to Puppy; he responded happily to his new name and perked right up. Hard to
believe, but true. One-syllable names — Josh, Rex, Fritz, and so on — generally
should be given to working dogs.
When training your dog, think of teacher and student — with you being
the teacher. As every teacher knows, learning is a process of successive
approximation. Children aren’t born knowing how to read and write; they learn
these skills in small increments. Similarly, a dog learns commands in small
increments, one step at a time. Repetition enforces that incremental learning.
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