The DOGspeak Series – The Foundations of
Training
w: www.doglife.co.nz e: sacha@doglife.co.nz p: 021 061 8480
Training your dog is one of the very few areas where Google
isn't your friend. Type in "Dog Training" and you get bombarded
with thousands of links on how to, and how not to, train your dog. It’s
confusing and very overwhelming.
Along with this, there's a pretty high chance the
trainers at the top are only there as they're the ones with the savviest SEO
engineers or biggest budget for advertising and promotion. There's no
rhyme or reason regarding the quality of the supposed professional you're even
looking at. So, you end up grabbing any link and trying to do your best
with what you've read. When all you're trying to do is get help to train
your dog, this isn't doing much to support that.
Online Facebook communities are much the same.
The audience is arguably more in line with your queries but again there's
no guarantee that who you're talking to knows what they're talking about.
So, what do you do? How do you train your dog?
When looking for a trainer I always recommend asking these three questions:
- what are your qualifications (and then check
them out)
- what happens if my dog gets something right
- what happens if my dog does something wrong
If it doesn't feel right, walk out the door...or
run!
Nothing beats a well-run dog training class
promoting positive and reward based fundamentals. You get to meet
likeminded people, share similar puppy and dog 'milestones', 'challenges',
'goals and you get a qualified professional guiding the way. Together you
will learn each other’s body language and enhance the bond to start to create a
great training connection.
The good
news is that with a bit of knowledge you can also train the basics from home.
WHEN TO START
AND HOW LONG SHOULD IT TAKE?
Training starts when your new dog walks into your life. From that moment
on your dog will be learning your signals, reading your body language, building
a bond and looking to you for direction. It's also an ongoing
process…the more you put into it…the more you get out and the more you will
both feel rewarded.
THE KEY TO DOG TRAINING
Essentially
training fits into four categories:
Planning
Think
about what you want to train, what your goals are, how you will know when
you've achieved it. Build a plan before you even start. Then break
your sessions down into short manageable chunks. Don’t do too much,
expect too much or worry if it doesn’t work the first time.
Consistency and
Frequency
Consistency and frequency breeds reliance and stability. The more
consistent we are and the more frequent the reinforcement, the more dependable
and fun you will be to Fido. Repetition evolves into learned patterns so
if Fido trusts that each time they present a behaviour it gets rewarded then
they will repeat the behaviour. Its Science but not rocket science.
Value
The reward will determine how fast the dog learns. It must be
something the dog wants otherwise what motivation do they have to perform.
I know that I'd work a lot harder for chocolate than crackers!
Don't forget a wee side of Environmental
Management
Imagine you're being taught how to do a cartwheel. You turn up and
your teacher tells you that you're going to be learning in a shopping mall on a
Saturday morning, it’s raining and you haven't worn lycra for 30 years!!
That feeling you're feeling right now, that's
how a dog feels when it’s taken to a busy, noisy park to learn its first
trick...there's just WAY too much going on to be able to concentrate properly
let alone learn.
So start your cartwheel (and dog) training in
the home, in environments where its safe, quiet and familiar and THEN as
training progresses (upwards), increase the stimuli in the environment.
In no time you'll be flaunting the lycra and cartwheeling all over the
food courts 😊
But is it
really that easy?
It can be. Dogs repeat what works right? So, by setting ourselves
up right that translates to our dogs and we inadvertently set them up for
success by being a positive, consistent trainer.
If Fido isn’t responding, take a step back and do something they do know.
Move forward in small steps rewarding each desired behaviour and not forgetting
you too. That way you’ll look forward to your sessions, and your dog will
too.
Last but not least, training should be fun! It’s a time for you and
your dog to bond, engage and enjoy the sessions. A time to achieve
together and reach the targets you've set with confidence, consideration and
consistent models of positive reinforcement.
WHAT SHOULD I
TEACH
There's no law book around what to teach your dog. Get crazy, wild
and creative but it is recommended to teach some foundation behaviours along
the way. Along with the standard 'sit', 'down', 'shake hands' and 'give'
here are some important safety commands you can teach your dog.
Recall
To have a dog with good recall is to have a safe dog.
Anytime you need to for his, her or your safety you can call your dog back to
you.
Stay
Along with being helpful at the café, a good stay will help
make dog ownership a breeze.
Focus and Leave it
Learning to leave things that may be dangerous or something
you’re just not sure about, and to refocus on you, is a good skill for any
dog. This can be applied to dogs, cats, other animals, poisonous
substances, plants. It also helps with impulse control and reinforces the
guidance you give your dog.
Stop
Stop means whatever you are doing stop and wait for me, a necessary emergency
command.
So don't be shy, trust you
can do it, get out there, have fun and train your Fido!