“A tired dog, is a good dog”.

- Maureen O'Connor

This is a phrase I encounter frequently in the dog training realm. While this is indeed true in a simplistic sense, I feel it has led some owners astray and inadvertently complicated their training efforts.

Is it important that we provide our dogs with daily opportunities for physical activity?
Yes! … BUT…

     A common mistake owners make is to clearly delineate each activity done with the dog. For example, feeding times, play times, walking times, park times and training times are all distinctly separate entities. It is important to note that this differentiation of activities is usually very clear to the dog. This pattern is generally very evident if one visits a dog park and witnesses one of the most common mistakes I see owners make – to teach the dog that any visit to the park subsequently means 20 to 40 minutes of unsupervised, unfettered freedom. For the owner, it is a fabulous way for the dog to get some exercise and burn some energy. For the dog, this becomes the time during which he learns that he is completely free to play, bark, dig, hump and wrestle as he pleases, with little interference from the owner who remains oblivious on the sidelines, latte in hand, chatting with friends.

     Rather than erring in this way, it really is important that we somehow integrate elements of training in virtually everything we do with our dogs. It doesn’t need to be extremely difficult or complicated. Rather, just adding some basic SITS, DOWNS &/or STAYS to your daily walks or park visits is a great way to help you and your dog expand your training horizons. By including mini-training sessions in this manner, you build a stronger foundation for you and your dog to draw from.

• Your dog learns that training rules apply everywhere, not just in class or at home.
• We are helping them practice and become fluent (more reliable) in basic behaviors, in a myriad of circumstances.
• Many dogs develop a strong affinity for the training process, favouring this enhanced interaction with their owners. As a byproduct of this, I often see dogs develop greater attentiveness and interest in the owner.
• Training in this way enables you to incorporate a variety of ‘life rewards’ (things that the dog intrinsically finds reinforcing), which can help phase out reliance on food as the sole means of reinforcement. For example, using off-leash play as a reward for walking nicely on a loose-leash toward the dog park.
• The more interesting you are to your dog, the less likely it will be that you will encounter problems getting your dog to pay attention to you. Keep training sessions short and fun to optimize your gains in this regard.
• Subtle changes in your routine, in accordance with this more integrated training philosophy can help enhance the relationship between owner and dog whereby each is increasingly confident in the other and both subsequently happier in general.

 

 

Grrrreat Expectations

- Maureen O'Connor

            I recently had a conversation with a frustrated but inquisitive first-time client who professed being perplexed by the increasingly prevalent reliance on canine professionals – trainers, behaviorists, psychologists, etc.  Indeed, recent years have seen a dynamic network of supporting professionals emerge in order to cater to the changing needs of dog owners. But why? Why is it that we need all of this help just to train our dogs? When once upon a time our dogs learned virtually everything in the school of hard knocks, roaming free throughout our neighborhoods, taking full advantage of an idyllic suburban doggy existence, why now do we need to spend time and money teaching our dogs a myriad of skills, behaviors and manners that in a different time, seemed to just materialize on their own accord?

            The short and sweet of ‘why’ is that we live in a very different time. When contemplating this clients question (which was indeed, a valid one), I remembered a family dog in my youth that we would joke about as having a day job. This particular dog, (we’ll call her ‘popcorn’) would leave sometime in the morning and peruse the neighborhood at her leisure before returning home around dinner time. Another family dog, (we’ll call him ‘Harley’) was most certainly a trusted member of our neighborhood kids bike gang and as such, would spend most of his days wandering neighborhood streets with us, (off-leash, GASP!) in search of utterly stupid and unproductive things to do. And if ‘Harley’ found more interesting things to do than hang out with us,
(like sit in the shallow waves by himself at the beach, or chase squirrels) I doubt we or anyone else even noticed.

Sadly, there are fewer and fewer places where it is permissible for even a perfectly friendly dog (such as ‘popcorn’ or ‘harley’) to wander at his/her will. Rather our society makes fewer and fewer allowances for the dogs amongst us, and this despite our growing expectations.  The allowances and understanding inherent in our societies of yesteryear are no longer and we now exist in a safety obsessed, litigious society where there is quite simply less room for error. This increasingly controlled reality also applies to our dogs who share this staunch ‘safety first’ world with us. We have come a long way in many respects but it would appear that the collective We has regressed in it’s general tolerance of man’s best friend.

This brings me to part of my role in this new mélange of canine professionals – to help confer greater public awareness regarding the realities of living with this other species. Much of my job as a dog advocate and trainer, consists of defending the needs and interests of developing dogs in much the same way that growing children have developmental needs and interests. Concurrently, given the nature of our less forgiving society, the bar set for acceptable canine behavior is getting much higher and we, as dog owners, must abide by these expectations lest we find ourselves at the mercy of the court because of our dogs’ silly or serious transgressions. So, with shifting parameters, the public has looked to trainers to provide the expertise and learning opportunities for our dogs that will equip them with the skills necessary to keep them happy, safe and out of trouble in today’s world.

            Formal dog training manufactures learning opportunities so that dogs learn human rules in a setting that does not endanger them or anybody else and thus, it has become a very important part of dog ownership in recent years. In this manner, mistakes made during the learning process are done in a controlled, supervised setting with appropriate management. In much the same way that a teenager must first be taught the rules of the road even before getting behind the wheel, dogs too must be taught the rules before they can be unleashed indiscriminately. We cannot expect a dog to simply know the rules, they must be taught, just like a teenager who first needs to understand motor vehicle laws. Any parent who fails to teach (or, for those not keen on developing an acute heart condition, hire someone else to teach) their child to drive is quite simply negligent. And similarly, in today’s society, it is grossly unfair to not equip your dog with a basic understanding of human rules and basic manners. Frankly, this puts you both at risk.

After learning the rules, it is possible to then practice to the point of proficiency, whether you are a teenager learning to drive or a dog learning obedience. It is imperative that people take advantage of formal learning opportunities for their dog so that they can first learn the rules, and then practice, practice, practice. The bottom line is that we have an obligation to our dogs as well as the general public, to both teach our dogs and provide them with opportunities to practice getting it right. That is what training is all about.

 

 

 

Owners Need Training Too
Taking A Look at the Human Role In Dog Training

- Maureen O'Connor

The fact of the matter is people play a pivotal role in the well-being of their dogs,  not just as food dispensers, massage therapists and eager ball-throwers, but as teachers – for a dog, we humans are the purveyors of all things good, bad and downright ugly that life has to offer. Such is the bane of the canine existence in a world where domestication is wholly commonplace. Many dog guardians find themselves speculating and agonizing over their dogs ‘faulty wiring’, their stubbornness, their reluctant spitefulness, their ‘aggression’, the list goes on… But what too many owners fail to address is their own knowledge gap. And indeed, there is one.
The human-dog relationship can be a fantastic partnership, a contentedly symbiotic existence, or a conflict-ridden, tumultuous and frustrating battle.
The problem?
We’re two different species. While our basic needs (ie. food and water) are similar, most of our day-to-day operations are spectacularly dissimilar. It would serve us well to remember that while our dogs have much to learn, so too would it behoove us as dog guardians to undertake a little education ourselves.

One of the best pieces of work addressing this inherently disparate yet functioning reality can be found in Jean Donaldson’s book, The Culture Clash. Accessible, insightful and even amusing, Donaldson’s poignant rhetoric hits on the most integral component in creating and nurturing interspecies bonds with our canine counterparts – acknowledging that they are dogs in a human world but understanding that their needs must still be met in this context.  It is with this realization that we must move away from our tendency to anthropomorphize and toward a reality where we allow and even help our dogs behave as such, within the confines of human parameters.
Any effort to create a better trained dog should start with owners seeking greater knowledge and understanding of this other species. To be a better partner, the aforementioned book by Donaldson is a fantastic beginning to any owners journey.

What else can we do to be better dog owners?
Assess your dogs’ motivators. When doing this, remember too, that what your dog likes in one particular context can be actively annoying at other times (ie. some dogs won’t want to chase a most beloved toy if there are other dogs around that they would rather meet and sniff). So be sure to think about what your dog really likes in any particular environment or any given scenario that might be encountered in an average day.

One of the basic tenets of installing good manners is based on the Premack Principle.  Essentially, it is possible to implement contingencies that involve the dog getting what he wants by doing something that we want. Things that the dog wants or wants to do must be earned by successfully completing an acceptable or preferred behavior. Think of how much more pleasant it is to have a dog sit politely and let you put on his leash before he rushes out the door, taking you out at the knees in the process. The premise here is that the behavior of going outside can be used as a reinforcer for sitting and waiting politely. This process starts with identifying key motivators for each individual dog. Whether it be a ball, a frisbee, food, going outside or cuddling on the couch, knowing what makes each dog tick is key in developing a behavioral exchange of sorts. Even rewarding a basic ‘SIT’ with a treat can be the foundation for developing a mutually beneficial relationship whereby a pattern becomes increasingly well rehearsed  by the dog, to the point of fluency – performing the desired behavior yields positive results or rewards  (ie. sitting at the door, makes it open). So, starting a list of the things that a particular dog really likes is a great idea to get the ball rolling.

Time is another crucial component on the journey to having a more “trainable” and well behaved dog. It’s important that owners make time to provide social opportunities for their dogs (whether that be one-on-one, with other people, or with other dogs), as well as opportunities for mental and physical exercise. A great and informative article: Bensky, Miles. “Tips For Exercising With Your Dog.”  Companion Animal Solutions.
http://companionanimalsolutions.com/blogs/tips-for-exercising-with-your-dog/
Providing appropriate physical outlets for dogs living in a human world tends to alleviate many behavior problems that are brought on by inactivity and a lack of stimulation.

Lastly, and not to be forgotten, another great option that helps train both dogs and owners alike, is to find a local, reputable dog trainer that offers services which are relevant to specific areas of interest or particular levels of development. This is a fabulous way to train your dog as well as hopefully gaining some additional knowledge as a handler.