As a gift to yourself and your
dog, as well as your family and your friends and neighbors, train your dog.
Doing so means sanity for you, safety for your dog, and compliments from people
you meet. Make him an ambas-sador of goodwill for all dogs. Your dog has a life
expectancy of 8 to 18 years, depending on his breed and how well you take care
of him. So now is the time to ensure that these years are mutually rewarding
for you and your dog.
Some dogs don’t need much
training, if any. They seem to just naturally fall into step with their owners’
daily routines. Most, however, need at least some basic training, especially
with coming when called. After all, a trained dog is a free dog. Rather than
being condemned to a life on leash, he can be taken for romps in the woods and
accompany his owner to many public places.
You should start training your
dog the day after you bring him home, and puppies are included in this rule.
Just because puppies are cute and cuddly doesn’t mean they can’t learn. They
not only can learn, but they also learn much more quickly than an older dog.
That’s because they haven’t acquired any bad habits.
This chapter gets you started on
how to teach your dog to be the well-trained pet you want him to be. Believe us
when we say it’s well worth the investment.
What Exactly Does Training Mean?
Before you get started with
training your dog, you first need to understand what training really is. The
term training is used to describe two separate and distinct concepts:
✓ To
teach Buddy to do something that you want him to do, but that he wouldn’t do on
his own: For example, Buddy knows how to sit and sits on his own, but you want
him to sit on command, something he doesn’t do on his own without training.
This concept is called action training. This
type of training relies mainly on using pleasant experiences, such as inducing
your dog to sit with a treat. Teaching Buddy the commands Sit, Down, Stand, and
Come are examples of action training.
✓ To teach Buddy to stop doing
something he would do on his own, but that you don’t want him to do: For
example, Buddy chases bicyclists, something he does on his own that you want
him to stop doing.
This concept is called abstention training.
This type of training typically relies on unpleasant experiences, although it
doesn’t have to. In other words, the dog learns to avoid the unpleasant
experience by not chas-ing the bicyclist or doing what you don’t want him to
do. For example, to teach Buddy not to pull on the leash, you can use a check.
A check is a crisp snap on the leash with an immediate release of tension. In
order to be effective, the leash must be loose before the check is made. Buddy can
avoid the check by not pulling.
Dogs already know that avoiding
unpleasant experiences is advantageous, because that’s how they deal with each
other. The training begins with the mother dog. When the puppies reach about 6
weeks old, she begins the wean-ing process. At that point in time, the puppies
have sharp little teeth, which aren’t very pleasant for the mother when she
feeds them. She begins to growl at the puppies to communicate to them not to
bite so hard. She snarls and snaps at those who ignore her growls until they
stop. An offending puppy may scream to high heaven and roll over on its back,
having learned its lesson. The mother dog usually follows the disagreeable
experience with an agreeable one — nuzzling the puppy.
The later section “Selecting a
Training Model” focuses on the different models of dog training, from
traditional training to operant conditioning and clicker training. Although
dogs (as a species) haven’t changed, the approach to training them has been
refined.
Identifying a Well-Trained Dog
A well-trained dog is a joy to
have around. He’s welcome almost anywhere because he behaves around people and
other dogs. He knows how to stay, and he comes when called. He’s a pleasure to
take for a walk because he doesn’t pull and can be let loose for a romp in the
park. He can be taken on trips and family outings. He’s a member of the family
in every sense of the word.
The most important benefit of training your dog is safety: your safety,
the safety of others, and his own safety. A dog that listens and does what he’s
told rarely gets into trouble. Instead of being a slave to a leash or a line, a
trained dog is a free dog — he can be trusted to stay when told, not to jump on
people, to come when called, and not to chase a cat across the road.
For more than 30 years, we have
taught dog training classes, seminars, and weeklong training camps. We listen
carefully when our students tell us what a well-trained dog should be. First
and foremost, they say, he has to be house-trained. After that, in order of
impor-tance, a well-trained dog is one who:
✓
Doesn’t jump on people
✓ Doesn’t
beg at the table
✓ Doesn’t
bother guests
✓ Comes when called
✓ Doesn’t
pull on the leash
Note that these requirements,
with one exception, are expressed in the
negative — that is, dog, don’t do
that. For purposes of training, we express these
requirements in the positive —
teach your dog exactly what you expect from
him. Here’s what the new list of
requirements for a well-trained dog looks like:
✓ Sit
when I tell you.
✓ Go somewhere and chill out.
✓ Lie down when I tell you and stay
there.
✓ Come when called.
✓ Walk on a loose leash.
The Sit and Down-Stay commands
are the building blocks for a well-trained dog; if Buddy knows nothing else,
you can still live with him.
Of course, your Buddy may have
some additional wrinkles that need ironing out, some of which are more matters
of management than training.
For instance, he may enjoy
landscaping, as do our Dachshunds, who delight in digging holes in the backyard
with amazing speed and vigor. Unless you’re willing to put up with what can
become major excavation projects, the best defense is to expend this digging
energy with plenty of exercise, training, and supervision (see Chapter 11 for
more). Another favorite pastime of some dogs is raiding the garbage. Prevention
is the cure here: Put the garbage where your dog can’t get to it.
One of our Dachshunds learned to open the refrigerator by yanking on the
towel we kept draped through the door handle, so he could help himself to anything
he could reach. Prevention was the answer: We removed the towel.
What is an untrained dog?
The untrained dog has few
privileges. When guests come to visit, he’s locked away because he’s too
unruly. When the family sits down to eat, he’s locked up or put outside because
he begs at the table. He’s never allowed off leash because he runs away and
stays out for hours at a time. Nobody wants to take him for a walk because he
pulls, and he never gets to go on family outings because he’s a nuisance.
Dogs are social animals, and one
of the cruel-est forms of punishment is to deprive them of the opportunity to
interact with family members on a regular basis. Isolating a dog from contact with
humans is inhumane. Spending quality time with your dog by training him will
make him the beloved pet he deserves to be.
Selecting a Training Model
You have many ways to train a
dog, ranging from rather primitive to fairly sophisticated. Even technology has
had its impact on dog training. For exam-ple, rather than fenced yards, people
often now have invisible fences, which contain dogs within their confines by
means of an electrical shock.
A brief history of dogs
Dogs were originally bred for
specific func-tions, such as guarding, herding, hauling, hunt-ing, and so on.
Before 1945, most dogs worked for a living, and many still do. The popularity
as a household pet is a relatively recent phenom-enon, fueled in part by the
heroic exploits of the dogs used in World War II as well as the fic-tional Rin
Tin Tin and Lassie. The upshot of this popularity has been a demand for the
“family” dog who’s easy to train, good with children, a little bit protective,
and relatively quiet.
Our approach to training is for
people who like their dogs and have them first and foremost as pets and
companions. The training involves three phases: the teaching phase, the
practicing phase, and the testing phase. In the teaching phase, the dog is
taught specific commands in an area free of distractions so he can focus on his
owner and can be successful. When the dog reliably responds to the commands he
has learned, distractions are introduced. As the dog progresses in this
practice phase, the distractions become increasingly more difficult in order to
simulate real life situations. In the testing phase, the dog is expected to
demonstrate that he’s a well-mannered pet around other dogs and people.
The method of training, or
combination of methods, you ultimately choose depends on which one works best
for you and your dog. Our goal in this sec-tion is to provide you with the
options so you can select one that suits your personality and needs as well as
those of your dog.
The ultimate object of any training is to have your dog respond reliably
to your commands. Ideally, he responds to the first command. Telling your dog to
do something only to have him ignore you is frustrating. Think of Buddy’s response
in terms of choices. Do you want to teach Buddy to think he has a choice of
responding to you? We don’t think so. We think you want a dog that understands
— after you have taught him — that he has to do what you tell him.
First things first: Considering your dog’s breed
Before you embark on your training program, consider what you want your dog
to master, and then compare your answer to the task for which he was bred. Many
people typically select their dogs based on appearance and without regard to
breed-specific functions and behaviors. The results are frequently all too
predictable — the cute little puppy becomes a grown dog that no longer fits
into the scheme of things.
Although most dogs can be trained
to obey basic obedience commands, breed-specific traits determine the ease or
difficulty with which they can be trained. For example, both the Newfoundland
and the Parson Russell Terrier can learn a Down-Stay command, but we suspect
you’ll need a great deal more determination, patience, and time to teach this
exercise to the Parson Russell Terrier than you will to the Newfoundland.
According to the statistics of
the American Kennel Club (AKC), the Labrador Retriever is first in
registrations, with almost three times the number of reg-istrations as the
second most popular breed, the German Shepherd — about 150,000 to some 50,000.
We’re not questioning the quality of the breed — we have two ourselves. Labs
are a fine breed and tend to be healthy, good with children, and more or less
easy to train. They also have an average protec-tiveness trait and require little
grooming. What prospective buyers frequently don’t consider, however, are a
Lab’s activity level and exercise requirements, both of which are high.
Moreover, as the name implies, a Labrador Retriever is, well, a retriever,
which means he likes to retrieve anything and everything that isn’t nailed down
and doesn’t necessarily belong to him.
An excellent resource for breed-specific behavior and traits is The
Roger Caras Dog Book: A Complete Guide to Every AKC Breed, by Roger Caras and
Alton Anderson (M. Evans & Company), now in its third edition. For each
breed, the book lists on a scale from 1 to 10 the three characteristics you
should pay attention to: the amount of coat care required, the amount of
exercise required, and the suitability for urban/apartment life. Thirteen
breeds in this group are considered unsuitable for urban/apartment life. The
remain-ing 11 breeds, which include the Labrador, are considered suitable, but
only if the dog’s exercise requirements are being met. Another excellent source
is Paws to Consider: Choosing the Right Dog for You and Your Family by Brian Kilcommons
and Sarah Wilson (Warner Books).
Traditional training
We use the term traditional
training to describe the most widely used train-ing method for the last 100
years. The first comprehensive written record of traditional dog training is
based on the principle that unacceptable behaviors result in unpleasant
consequences and that acceptable behaviors result in pleasant consequences.
Konrad Most, a German service dog
trainer, developed this method in the early 1900s; he also wrote Training Dogs:
A Manual. (Dogwise Publishing has republished the book, and it’s available at
www.dogwise.com.) Most’s method was introduced in this country in the early
1920s, when several of his students immigrated to the United States and became
the teachers of future dog training instructors.
Most explains that training a dog
consists of primary and secondary induce-ments. Primary inducements result in
the behavior you want to elicit from the dog, and secondary inducements are
commands and signals. By pairing the two, you can condition the dog to respond
solely to commands and signals, the ultimate goal of any training.
Primary inducements can be pleasant
or unpleasant experiences for the dog. Here’s a rundown of each type:
✓
Pleasant experiences: These experiences, called rewards, consist of an object
the dog will actively work for — such as food, an inviting body posture, verbal
praise, or physical affection like petting — to induce the desired behavior. A
common example is the owner who encourages his puppy to come to him by
squatting down and opening his arms in an inviting fashion. Another example is
to use a treat to induce the dog to sit or stay.
✓ Unpleasant experiences: These
experiences are called corrections, and examples can be a check on the leash, a
harsh tone of voice, a threaten-ing body posture, or the act of throwing
something at the dog. In order to extinguish the undesired behavior, the
correction must be sufficiently unpleasant for the dog so that he wants to
avoid it and change his behavior. Moreover, you must administer the correction
immediately before or during the undesired behavior.
What constitutes an unpleasant experience
varies from dog to dog and depends on his Personality Profile (head to Chapter
2 for more informa-tion). In other words, what’s perceived as a sufficiently
unpleasant expe-rience to inhibit the unwanted behavior by one dog may be
perceived as just an annoyance by another dog.
B.F. Skinner, the famous
theoretical behaviorist, used the term operant con-ditioning to describe the
effects of a trainer’s particular action on the future occurrence of an
animal’s behavior. Four quadrants make up operant condi-tioning, and we show
them in Table 1-1.
Behaviorists have the tendency to
use language that confuses the layman. If you think that “negative punishment”
is a redundancy and “positive punish-ment” is an oxymoron, you’re not alone.
To help you understand the
differences among the Four Quadrants, here are some examples:
✓
Quadrant 1 — positive reinforcement: When one of our Dachshunds, Diggy, was
still quite young, she assumed the begging position by sit-ting up on her
haunches. She did this spontaneously and on her own, without any coaxing on our
part. Naturally, we thought it was cute, so we gave her a treat, which increased
the behavior. We periodically rein-forced the behavior with a treat. Fourteen
years later, she still offered this behavior to get treats.
✓ Quadrant 2 —
negative punishment: You’re watching TV and your dog drops
his ball in your lap hoping you’ll throw it. You get up and leave, which will
decrease the behavior.
✓ Quadrant 3 —
positive punishment: Your dog jumps on you to greet you when you walk in the
door; you spritz him with water, which will decrease the behavior.
✓ Quadrant 4 —
negative reinforcement: You lift up on your dog’s collar until he sits, and
then you release the collar, which will increase the behavior of sitting.
So, what’s the bottom line in all
this information about traditional training and operant conditioning? It’s actually
rather simple:
✓
Acceptable behaviors result in pleasant experiences.
✓ Unacceptable behaviors result in
unpleasant experiences.
✓ All behaviors have consequences.
To help you keep all the training
terminology straight, we provide Table 1-2 to combine it all into a neat, small
package.
Clicker training
Keller and Marian Breland created
the foundation for the clicker training movement. In the mid-1940s, the
Brelands were the first to apply clicker train-ing to training dogs. The
movement didn’t become popular, however, until the early 1990s when Karen Pryor
began to give seminars on clicker training.
Clicker training is based on the
concepts of operant conditioning (which we discuss earlier in the chapter). The
dog is first trained to associate the clicker sound (see Figure 1-2) with
getting a treat, a pleasant experience. After the dog associates the click with
getting a treat, the trainer has two options:
✓
Option 1: The trainer can wait until the dog voluntarily offers the desired
behavior on his own, such as sit. When the dog sits, the trainer clicks,
marking the end of the behavior, and reinforces the behavior with a treat. This
option works well with extroverted dogs that offer a variety of behaviors in
the hope that one of them will get them a treat. An intro-verted dog, on the
other hand, may show little interest in the game. The “wait and see what
happens” approach, depending on the dog, can be a lengthy process for the
trainer and a stressful one for the dog — he may stop offering any behaviors
and just lie down.
✓ Option 2: With this option, the
trainer doesn’t have the patience to wait for
the desired behavior to happen, so he induces the behavior. Again, in the case
of the Sit command, the trainer uses a treat to get the dog to assume the
sitting position, and when the dog sits, the trainer clicks, marking the
behavior, and gives the treat.
With a clicker the trainer can
mark the desired behavior with greater accu-racy than he can with verbal
praise, which means clearer communication with the dog. Clicker training is a
wonderful tool; it does, however, require keen powers of observation and
split-second timing. For more on clicker training, see Karen Pryor’s Reaching
the Animal Mind: Clicker Training and What it Teaches Us About All Animals
(Scribner).
Five Basic Commands Every Dog Needs to Know
Every dog needs to know five basic
commands: Sit, Down, Stay, Come, and Leave It. You can look at these as safety
and sanity commands — your dog’s safety and your sanity. Here’s a look at each
of these commands:
✓ The Sit command: You use
the Sit command anytime you need your dog to control himself. You can use the
command to teach your dog to do the following:
• Sit politely for petting instead of jumping
on people
• Sit at the door instead of barging ahead of
you
• Sit when you put his food dish on the floor
instead of trying to grab it out of your hand
✓ The Down command: You use the Down command when you want
your dog to stay in one place for prolonged periods, such as when you’re eating
dinner.
✓ The Come command: You need to teach your dog the Come
command so you can call him when you take him for a hike, when he wants to chase
a squirrel, or whatever.
✓ The Stay command: When you want to teach your dog to remain
in place without moving, you teach him the Stay command.
✓ The Leave It command: You teach your dog the Leave It
command so he leaves stuff alone when you don’t want him to have it.
Recognizing Factors that Influence Success
Of the many factors that influence
success, you are the most important one. You’re the one who decides how to
approach training and what you want your dog to learn. Your dog is your
responsibility and whatever your dog does — good or bad — is under your control.
Having a good relationship with your dog
The goal of training is to create a
mutually rewarding relationship — you’re happy and your dog is happy. To foster
such a relationship, become aware of how many times you use your dog’s name to
change or control his behavior.
Your dog’s name isn’t a command and
certainly isn’t a reprimand. His name is used to get his attention and is then
followed by a command.
Stop nagging and learn to communicate with your dog through training.
Focus on teaching Buddy what you want him to do rather than on what you don’t want
him to do. Above all, limit negative verbal communications, such as “no,” to
emergencies. Repeatedly yelling “no” isn’t the way to foster a good relationship.
A good relationship also requires
spending quality time together. You can spend time with your dog by training,
going for walks, playing ball, and so on. Chapter 21 provides some sporting
activities you can do with Buddy.
Owning a healthy hound
Your dog’s health has an enormous
influence on his training success. A dog who doesn’t feel well won’t learn well
either. First and foremost, his health depends on what you feed him. You need
to feed him a high-quality food that provides the nutrients he needs.
Your dog also needs an annual
checkup by your veterinarian, preferably with a blood test. Regular bathing and
grooming are similarly important. If you live in an area where deer roam, you
need to check him for ticks. Deer ticks spread Lyme disease, which can have
debilitating effects on your dog. Ticks, heartworms, and internal and external
parasites need to be diagnosed and treated by your veterinarian.
Making training time a priority
One of the most common complaints
we hear is, “I just don’t have the time to train my dog!” First, look at
training as a fun game — something you and your dog enjoy doing together. It
shouldn’t be a chore. Then identify the times during the day when you interact
most with your dog.
Here are some times when you can
take advantage of training opportunities:
✓ Feeding time: If your dog is still a puppy, you feed him
four, three and eventually two times a day. Each meal is a training opportunity
— teach him to sit and stay before you put his dish down. Make him wait for a second
or two, and then let him eat. You’ll be surprised how quickly he catches on to
this routine. You also can put the dish down first and follow the same
procedure.
✓ When exiting and entering buildings: Because we have four
dogs, we consider door manners an absolute must. It’s equally important for the
single-dog household, however. It usually takes about 30 seconds for 05_600290-ch01.indd 21 05_600290-ch01.indd 21 6/15/10
3:17 PM 6/15/10 3:17 PM22 Part
I: Setting the Stage for Successful Training the dog to catch on that he’s
supposed to wait before you tell him it’s okay to exit (or enter). It’s a
matter of consistency on your part until the behavior becomes automatic.
✓ While relaxing with your pooch: The Leave It command can be
taught while you’re watching TV. Take a few treats to your favorite chair and have
fun teaching the progressions to the exercise.
✓ During walks: Every time you take your dog for a walk is a
training opportunity to teach him not to pull, to sit at the curb, and to heel
when passing other dogs.
All four of these commands teach
your dog to focus on you and look to you for direction — and they all happen as
a part of your daily routine.
Oh, the Places You and Your Pooch Can Go: Beyond the Basics
Performance events for dogs date
back to the early 1930s, and the first obedi-ence trial under American Kennel
Club (AKC) rules took place in 1936. The purpose of obedience trials, as stated
in the AKC Obedience Regulations, is to “demonstrate the dog’s ability to
follow specified routines in the obedi-ence ring and emphasize the usefulness
of the purebred dog as a companion of man.” Following are some of the options
you can explore if you want to take training to the next level.
The Canine Good Citizen Certificate
In the early 1970s, the AKC
developed the popular Canine Good Citizen (CGC) test, a program for both purebred
dogs and mixed breeds. The CGC test uses a series of exercises that demonstrate
the dog’s ability to behave in an acceptable manner in public. Its purpose is
to show that the dog, as a com-panion for all people, can be a respected member
of the community and can be trained and conditioned to always behave in the
home, in public places, and in the presence of other dogs in a manner that
reflects credit on the dog.
(For more details on this test, go
to www.akc.org.)
In many areas you can find classes to help you train your dog and
prepare the two of you for the CGC.
AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy program
The goal of the AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy
program is similar to the Canine Good Citizen program, except that it’s aimed
at puppies. Just like the CGC program, the AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy program includes
a Responsible Dog Owner Pledge as well as a basic training program in which
puppies up to 1 year of age are eligi-ble to participate. After you attend a
basic training class locally, your puppy must take a test. Look in the phone
book for information on dog training in your area. When the puppy passes the
test, he receives a certificate and a medal. (For more details, go to www.akc.org.,
More than training: Understanding how dogs help people
Man and dog have been together for
a long time. It didn’t take man long to recognize the dog’s potential as a
valuable helper. Originally, the dog’s main jobs were guarding, hauling,
herding, and hunting. Over time, more jobs were added to the species’
repertoire; now dogs perform an amazing variety of tasks. These tasks fall into
four broad categories: service dogs, detection dogs, assistance dogs, and
companion dogs.
Canine Companions for Independence
(www.cci.org), Canine Assistants (www.canineassistants.org), Dogs for the Deaf
(www.dogsforthedeaf.org), Assistance Dogs International, Inc.
(www.assistancedogsinternational.org), Assistance Dogs of America, Inc.
(www.adai.org), Guiding Eyes for the Blind (www.guidingeyes.org)
An Exercise to Get You and Your Pooch Started
Eager to get started with some
training? We hope so! We begin with an exer-cise that shows you how to train
your dog while you’re feeding him. We chose this exercise because you’re going
to feed your dog two times a day (and even more frequently if he’s a puppy),
and each time you do so is a training opportunity. It’s also a good exercise
because the dog quickly figures out what is to his advantage, namely, he stays
and he gets to eat.
If your dog is enthusiastic and
bouncy, you’ll have more success with this exercise when he’s leashed rather
than loose.Follow these steps to successfully train your pooch to sit and stay
before eating:
1. Prepare his meal as you normally do.
2. Pick up his leash with your left hand and hold it as close to his
collar as is comfortable for you, but without any tension on his collar.
3. Pick up his dish with your right hand, say “Stay,” and then put the dish
on the floor.
When he makes a dive for the bowl, pull up on the leash and pick up the dish.
He doesn’t have to sit; he just isn’t allowed to dive for the dish.
4. Repeat Step 3 until he holds his position when you put the dish on
the floor; see Figure 1-3.
5. After he’s successful at maintaining his position, say “Okay” and let
him eat in peace.
“Okay” is a release term to tell the dog he’s now free to move. If you don’t
like “Okay,” you can choose a term to your own liking, such as “You’re free.”
As a general rule, it takes about
three to five repetitions on the first try for the dog to get the message.
Avoid the temptation to use negative communica-tions, such a “no” or “ah-ah.”
Instead, use the leash to gently yet authorita-tively control your dog. After
several sessions, he’ll more than likely sit on his own in anticipation of
getting his meal.
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