Why is training so important?
It's unfortunate that the word training has such a narrow meaning in most people's minds. When people hear the words 'dog training' they think 'sit, stay, don't eat off the counters!' - but that's just the beginning. What training really is:
- Basic manners and safety (sit, stay, come, etc are important.)
- Leadership. You need to guide your dog and be the parent - but this doesn't mean intimidating him.
- How to speak dog! Yes, you need to learn what your dog thinks as well, most dogs are natural communicators once we learn to listen.
- Dog therapy. You heard me, dogs can have just as broad a range of neurosis as humans and they deserve expert help too.
- A crash course in clear communication - for you!
- The sky is the limit - your dog is ready to learn anything!
We firmly believe that the best thing you can do for your relationship with your dog is to find a competent trainer and read. It's also the best way to prevent the number one reason people give up dogs - behavior issues. Sadly, dog training is a battle ground with common knowledge and some training celebrities a full 50 years behind current science. It's worth spending time researching your sources before putting your trust in any book, video, TV show, trainer or behaviorist.
The basics:
Every dog needs to know a few things. He needs to know the rules he will be expected to follow, he needs to know basic commands like: sit, stay, come, down, touch. These things are important for safety - as well as quality of life. You'll be able to go more places with your dog if you can trust him more.
A dog also needs to be socialized. This means interacting with all different sizes, shapes and colors of humans and other dogs. They need to be exposed to a variety of hair styles, clothing styles and objects people carry too.
For a quick introduction, I highly recommend Ian Dunbar's online training textbook, The Dog Star Daily
Leadership - isn't it all about dominance?
Contrary to folk-lore, a dog's world view isn't based completely around a dominance hierarchy. In fact, dominance is an important, but small part of doggy behavior. It's simply a peace-keeping strategy to determine who of two animals gets a specific resource first. These roles can reverse for different resources. When I stay at my parent's place my boy, Arlo, has claimed first dibs for food - but my parent's dog, Gypsy, maintains dibs on his bed. They know who gets priority access, so they don't need to fight, it's a beautiful thing! Note that dogs don't think humans are dogs - neither dog extends this concept to the human family members. That sort of confusion would be completely abnormal.
Dogs jump, counter surf, pull on leash and chew your things because these things are rewarding and they haven't been taught manners. These things don't mean your dog sees himself as "the alpha" and rolling, shocking, yelling, hitting, choking or intimidating are all unnecessary.
So you should make rules, let the dog know about them and be assertive about them. You should do all this with calm insistence, not pain. Sometimes training isn't intuitive, so consult a pro before you resort to intimidation, pain or force if you don't know what else to do.
Here are some links:
- AVSAB statement on "dominance"
- APDT on "dominance"
- Pat McConnell, PhD., CAAB on "dominance". I highly recommend McConnell's books, including How to be the Leader of the Pack which directly addresses this "dominance" confusion.
- Sophia Yin, DVM, MS on "dominance"
- Jean Donaldson's The Culture Clash is my favorite book on doggy psychology. Everything is so much simpler than people make it!
Learning to communicate with your dog.
Illustration from Lili Chin, link to her blog below (in this section.)Sadly, common knowledge is that if a dog misbehaves the human is to blame. This is over simplified. You are certainly half the equation, but your dog has a complex mind too. He has got built in fears, drives and associations so let's listen to what your dog is saying!
Yawns, lip licks, paw lifts, head turns, walking patterns, "whale eyes", "soft eyes", body postures, body shakes, sitting, lying down and other things all convey information to dogs. Humans miss many of these cues, but we shouldn't!
Here are some dog body language links:
- Calming Signals by Turid Ragaas. She has a well illustrated book which is an easy read for children as well!
- Another excellent illustration by Lili Chen of Boogies Blog, which is a wonderful resource as well!
- Giant book of dog body language by Brenda Aloff
Learning should not hurt.
We believe firmly that training should not hurt. This view is backed by the major authorities on the subject as well. Why?
It doesn't have to. Why cause your dog pain when other methods have been shown to be equally, if not more effective?
In fact, stress inhibits learning. The link talks about research done on rats and mice (which BSAR strongly opposes!), but the science holds for humans and dogs too. When learning is stressful we don't learn effectively. Positive punishment methods often rely on learned helplessness, which is counter-productive in the long term.
Hurting a dog can backfire. While many dogs learn perfectly with aversive methods, there is always a risk that these methods will cause fear or aggression.
- Don't take my word for it - here is an unfiltered google scholar search for "positive punishment dog". Positive punishment is training jargon for adding something (hence positive) unpleasant to punish (decrease the frequency of) the behavior. BSAR opposes positive punishment.
Dog therapy?
You heard me. Many dog behavior issues aren't simple training problems.
Dogs can have a version of OCD, they can have fears based on a single traumatic experience, or a pattern of trauma, like my boy. Dogs can also develop neuroses which have little to do with the dog's environment. Certainly environment plays a big role - but it's believed that object guarding, noise/storm phobia, separation anxiety and several other things don't correlate well to problems in the dog's upbringing. Furthermore, there are many medical problems that can cause behavioral problems. Always consult a vet if your dog has a behavior problem!
Treatment for these behavior problems involves treating the emotion or underlying compulsion as well. This is a subject for dozens of books - but suffice it to say that if your dog has aggression, anxiety or a behavior you are having trouble treating you really need to see an expert.
Some links:
- My favorite booklist for working with any dog - but especially fear. It's on a website that is a wonderful resource for any fearful dog too!
- Behavioral Adjustment Therapy (BAT) is a great strategy for fearful or impolite dogs.
Clear communication?
I was in the dog park with my dog the other day, and I witnessed a disturbing scene.
A man was walking three dogs, two off leash. He called one who was lagging behind him, but she didn't listen immediately. He then got agitated and yelled at her. She froze in her tracks and as he kept yelling turned and ran with her tail down to her front door. Meanwhile the other dog ran away too. The man stormed over and grabbed the second dog so hard she yelped, then ran over smacked the first dog and yelled at both of them.
What's disturbing about this? Obviously it's disturbing that he hurt his dogs. But there is more. He taught his dogs that "come" means trouble. He is hurting these dogs for perceived disobedience while at the same time teaching them that "come" means you'd better run and hide.
Well meaning people fail to communicate with their dogs all the time, though usually not to that extreme. Most dog guardians are guilty of punishing our dogs for a rule we didn't tell him about. We let the dog pull us on leash (a huge reward!) until we get sick of it, then we choke him, we let a puppy jump (another self-rewarding behavior) until he gets too big, then we knee him in the chest, we teach animals that shoes aren't chew toys only after it's too late. We scream at dogs who helped themselves to food on the counter. (How was the dog supposed to know?!)
All of these problems can be solved and prevented with simple calm persistence. If you stop walking every time your dog pulls, he'll stop. If you take your attention away (and turn your back) when your dog jumps it will lose it's appeal. If you supervise chewing your dog will never learn shoes are delicious. For all these things, training incompatible behaviors can speed the process along too. (Try making your dog "touch" your hand each time he pulls to reset the loose leash - then reward while he is doing it right!)
CAUTION: The dog training profession is in the middle of a crisis.
On the one hand we have a brilliant community of trainers, behaviorists and vet behaviorists and a plethora of training, behavior and psychology books. There is so much to learn!
Then there is the dark side. We have celebrity trainers who advocate methods which are outdated, cruel and are shown to be less effective and dangerous. They cause aggression. Training organizations have even cropped up just to certify people who advocate using methods which are advised against by the authoritative training organizations.
Advice on how to find a trainer:
- American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior [PDF] and their statement on types of behavior professionals [PDF].
- Association of Pet Dog Trainers
- Recommended trainers from the Fearful Dogs Blog
- Dog Star Daily's take on the issue
- List of Karen Pryor Academy graduates. This is a training organization which is serious about holding their trainers to high standards!
- "Truly Dog Friendly" Trainers Short list of trainers who don't use pain or intimidation.
- Pat Miller's List
More!
What ever you'd like! Here is my favorite youtube channel - positive, clicker trained rescue ridgebacks do chores!
Dogs are smart - once you learn to communicate clearly with them, the sky is the limit :-)
No comments:
Post a Comment