Change Your Perspective And Train Your Dog

Excellent comments, Kelly!  I do rescue and I run into these attitudes from people all the time.  I am going to tell people to come to Dog Star Daily and read your post.  Thank you!

Karen

Great post.My training mantra is "the dog is never wrong".They do not have a hidden agenda.

When I hear stuff like that, it really breaks my heart. 

These dogs didn't get to choose who brought them home. 

I remember that everytime I'm tired. 

We're a team.  We help eachother out. That's my mantra. 

All of my video's of our training progress...when I look back and watch them...they sure make me look good..following my bodylanguage when my mouth is saying something different, or making me laugh or beam with joy...

We're a team, we've soooo got our groove on, and it shows even on the streets!   I can't tell you how many people will stop to watch us goof around.  Even in their cars.  One guy last week stopped his truck to watch us do some recall work and my guys as a reward got to play they were play bowing and wrestling and zooming aroudn like speed demons....we were both laughing.   That's my kinda training!

Just like running a three legged race...it takes time, patience and creative thinking to get your groove on. 

Thankfully the Learning Theory is simple.  The rest is just adding repetition, fun and games (or treats, or cuddles...) really.  Enjoying the journey, seeing their personalities emerge eager to learn something new.

I always remind people that if given a choice...which do you think a dog would choose?

1-a home where someone is benevolent, and use praise, play, treat, cuddles, life adventures rain from the sky when they play charades with us and "guess" the right answer or behaviour we'd like to see more of. 

Best of all who will redirect them, take time to teach them sign language to communicate (two way street, they read our bodylanguage, we need to be able to read their signs of confusion, frustration and fear too).

Added bonus from this type of relationship for us humans is the oxytocin overflow when  lightbulb moments go off and you two can share the delight...it has a way of spilling into your everyday life.

Or

2-a home that as you mention blames them for everything doggie they're doing, but don't make the effort to learn how to communicate in a healthy way as mentioned above...

hmmm.... the first one sounds a lot more fun and healthy for both human and their furry companion...but that's just my opinion.

happy-houndz.blogspot.com

cheers, kate

Great article  Kelly. Hey Susan I love that mantra "the dog is never wrong" , who said this ,because I believe it.

A welcome post, Kelly.  I may be of a different breed of dog trainer here.  Although I do teach puppy classes, ‘adult dogs with baggage’ classes, work with behavioral issue,  and so on, I am also actively involved in the world of training retrievers.  But, that is another difference, because I do not use ‘force/pressure’ methods or tools.  So, I’m viewed as a bit different in the retriever training world also.

In the retriever training world, dogs are frequently described as ‘blowing off’ the trainer, or ‘flipping them the paw’.  A typical response to that percieved insult would be to turn the e-collar setting up a notch or two.  I say it is a typical response because there are a few enlightened trainers who are willing to consider that the dog may be confused, as opposed to outright defiant.  Nevertheless, when these enlightened individuals reach a certain point, they turn up the volumn too!.

Dominance Theory, and Pack Theory are the overwhelmingly predominant paradigms in retriever training.  Even though these theories have been seriously challenged, retriever trainers aren’t getting message that Ian is sending regarding dog training in general – we are failing our dogs.

I believe we are failing precisely becaue we are mired in a paradigm, a world view of dogs, that is in need of replacement.  ‘Alpha’ is out...., but what is to replace it?  Dogs as ‘pack animals’ is out, but they are still social animals, and what is to replace Pack Theory?

I would suggest the work of Alexandra Semyanova.  Her ‘The 100 Silliest Things People Say About Dogs’ is underpined by her more scholarly work ‘The Social Organization of Dogs’.  She describes dogs in terms of complexity theory in her research, but breaks it down for the lay person in her book, which she graciously allows copyright priveledges to for dog trainers.

As an amateur student of complexity theory, I was amazed at the incisiveness of her description of canine behavior, with explanations that simply elude Pack Theory and Dominance Theory.

Between you and Ian, and Alexandra there are new winds blowing in the world of canine understanding that bode well for these magnificent creatures and their human companions.

 Chuck

Great insight Kelly!

As I have been training our German Shepherd puppy, I have to continuously remind my kids that a well trained dog doesn't happen overnight.  I've had to educate them so they'll understand that dogs are motivated by rewards and not punishment.

His size makes everyone think he is a dog and not still a pup. As he matures and I continue his training, socialization and classes we all see results...sometimes not as quickly as we'd like, but results :)

Thanks for your positive perspective!
Casey Craig
http://www.caseycraig.com

Cool post, and so timely.

I've made the exploration of human-dog equation a topic of my thesis. First part that is directly related to this topic is at http://dogandogs.com/everything-you-know-about-dog-training-is-wro

What you are talking about in your post is a problem of attenuation. As humans communicate with each other (or with dogs, fish or anything or anyone else), every time we transfer information we have no control over how that information is recieved and processed. If you ever played a game of telephones as a kid you know exactly what Im talking about.

My suggestion is to use outcome-directed thinking. This requires us to project the other's point of view, consider other's motivations and desires, meet their needs, etc. This is very different from what most people do.

I think its quite telling that the most often used word in the English lenguage is "I", "me", "mine", "my" or some variation of it....

Dino Dogan
http://dogandogs.com

Your words are so important Kelly.  When I get these sorts of questions, my standard reply now is "Why WOULDN'T he?  He's a dog!"

Sue@bone-afidedogtraining.com

what about a super intelligent border collie who knows the come command inside out, knows he's supposed to come when called eg at the end of a walk etc BUT chooses not to AND comes at other times perfectly? Tell me whether you think there is anything going on in the dog's head there and what can you do about it?

Hi Fundays,

Good question. My post mainly addresses the majority of pet dogs, and some performance dogs, who are grossly under-trained and held to expectation beyond their training level by their handlers due to lack of understanding how dogs learn and what motivates dogs (i.e. NOT divine reverance for, or defernce to humans).

There are many possible reasons the dog mentioned above might not come when called at the park, if this dog does indeed have a near-perfect recall in other situations, which is the first thing to determine. Dogs don't generalize well. Changing the situation greatly changes the picture and a dog that recalls perfectly in the context of training exercises or at home, does not necessarily understand the same cue when at the park if recall exercises where the dog has been set up to succeed about 80% haven't been set up and practiced with regularity.

In short, this dog may not be coming when called at the park because it's simply too distracting, the environment to rich and lush for him to concentrate on his studies. As in the dog has been an A+ student in high school, but now he's been asked to perform at PhD level without any extra education, skill-building, and practice.

Or... a more likely explanation, the dog has actually learned not to come when called at the park (context-specific response) because when he follows your request at the park it's primarily punishing - the fun ends, it's time to go home. People unintentionally train in an anti-recall all of the time by repeatedly pairing something unpleasant with the recall. The best way to combat this problem is to go out with a long-line dragging, some of your dog's favorite toys and extra-special treats, maybe even pick a new recall word for the park (one with no previous bummer-like associations), and practice enticing your dog to want to come when called, throwing a party when he does, and, here's the key, then releasing him back to play and run some more! About 80% of your recall work should be purely positively reinforced by heavy rewards and/or release so that your dog mainly has happy associations with coming to you in any situation and is likely to bet that it's good news for him to come to you every time you call him, even at the park.

However, there is another reason a dog might not respond to a request. Choice and relevancy (tied to association as mentioned above). I am just putting the finishing touches on a post that will go into more detail on the subject.

Thanks for your question and happy training!

Kelly Gorman Dunbar Editor, Dog Star Daily

Great response Kelly. You covered all the usual recall suspects from the dog's perspective. I would like to add a few words from the human's perspective.

Since dogs dont generalize well, be extra aware of the tone and timber, as well as volume and intent in your voice. When trainers talk about consistency, part of that consistency is delivering the command the same way all the time. This will help him (the dog) generalize the recall.

Also, motivation is definitely a factor. Don’t think of it as “it’s my dog’s job to come when called”. Think of it as “it’s my job as a dog owner to motivate my dog enough so that he wants to came when called”.

Collies are an incredibly bright breed and I am sure your collie is weighing his options and you are coming on the bottom. Do a gradual increase in distraction in the environmental (take him to the dog park during off-peak hours for example) AND sharply increase the reward on the handler’s side; this should help.
The reward being whatever motivates your dogs. Could be your exuberance and affection, special food (real chicken for example), or whatever.

And as Kelly said, after he comes, let him go back-in and continue to play. Rinse and repeat :-)

This is a failure to “waterproof” the recall. There are many texts written on how to accomplish this but the instructions found in this article and comments should suffice. Start here and let us know if more help is needed.

Hi Kelly and Dogandogs!

What a helpful response!!  Thank you so much. It's often difficult to see it from the dog's perspective and you have just shown me that!  So simple when explained.

I'll give it a go.

Great article Kelly and the response to Fundays was brilliant too - I wish I was able to explain things so eloquently!

As a "downunda" veterinary nurse, when my clients complain about specific behaviours, my first question is always "what sort have training have you done" invariably the answer comes back as none.

one of the most annoying reponses i get is "Yeah But......" , I usually know when i get this response the client is not going to listen to any advice, they just want a "quick fix" and usually they think their animal is unique in it's inability to learn, without the owner recognising their own part in it all.

I think I might try a new tract, suggesting the owner view it from the animals point of view.

Hello all,

Thank you for your feedback, it's greatly appreciated. I just posted the companion piece to this one here. It's about motivation.

Cheers!

Kelly Gorman Dunbar Editor, Dog Star Daily

HELP.  What is it that I need to do?

I have a 17 month old German Sheppard.  At 6 months old he was tramatized.  Two dogs (tiny) came into our yard barking and scared LT.  Now he barks and has confronted them. (wearing a muzzle)  How do I resolve this to see if the dogs can socialize.  What is it that I need to do. Thanks 

@LT

When it comes to aggression issues your best bet, after all is said and done, is to find a reputable trainer in your area and consult him/her on the best approach.

There are many subtleties related to these issues that will dictate the right approach. The kind of subtleties that cant be related in a written post.

In the immediate, I would recommend hoping on a bicycle and taking your dog for a nice long ride. Try this for 3-4 weeks, about 2+ hours a day (longer on weekends).

By the time you leave the house your dog should be thinking “thank god he’s gone, now I can relax”.

If you can, find a neighbor who has a dog with a great disposition and expose yours to social situations, gradually, and in a controlled way.

Hope this helps, but remember. Find a reputable trainer in your area for specific advice and help. Good luck and keep us posted.