I once was told that 90% of dog training is teaching the
owners. The more I work with dogs and owners, the more I agree
with this. When developing my own program, I questioned many
average dog owners. (Average owners who just want a well-mannered
dog and do not care about the perfection needed for competition.)
This is what most of them desired in a program:
Many owners also stated they felt lost or belittled in classes
or that the methods used were harsh or even tough for them
to grasp. I started brainstorming how I could make my classes
more enjoyable and understandable for the average dog owner.
Here are some things I have come up with that appear to work:
Spinach vs. Ice Cream Sundae: Dogs often see the
world as a game, fun. If humans are not more fun than the
distractions about us, the dogs will not be as focused.
Owners then tend to frustrate and get more physical or verbally
harsh. The dogs learn that classes are not fun yet they
learn to work to avoid the pain of yanking and the yelling.
Think, what would the average child rather have: spinach
or a sundae? Make the analogy to dogs. Owners need to become
a sundae and make the world look like spinach. This is not
done through harsh corrections, yanking and yelling. This
is done through fun, play, toys and treats. When I start
adding distractions in class, the last thing the owners
want to hear me say is "You are SO SPINACH!" When they hear
this, they know they have to get fun. It is great to watch
a dog recall away from me and happily bound back to the
owner who is now SO SUNDAE!
Baby Steps: The first class of each series I give
a homework assignment. Each student is to go out and rent
"What About Bob?" Do you remember the movie with Bill Murray
as a psychiatric patient and Richard Dreyfuss as his ever-suffering
doctor? This movie has NOTHING to do with dog training.
However learn the concept of Baby Steps: breaking a behavior
down, setting up to succeed and stepping back to an easier
place when things get rough. Bill Murray's character has
some phobias. When he absolutely cannot live without his
vacationing doctor, Bill Murray sets out to find him. However,
leaving the safety of his home causes intense anxiety. So,
as defined by the good doctor, Murray Baby Steps. He breaks
down the trip into smaller and easier to handle increments.
If he gets too anxious, he steps back until he calms down
and then progresses. When students expect too much from
their dogs too fast, they set up to fail. But by having
reasonable expectations and breaking behaviors down, the
dog is more likely to ultimately succeed. Repeated success
equals better learning and less anxiety for dog and owner.
Why do you think we start teaching the DOWN behavior from
a sit as opposed to a stand? When sitting, the dog is halfway
to the down.
Sesame Street: This is another assignment I give
in the first class: watch a few episodes of Sesame Street
and count how many times you see the alphabet taught. Sesame
Street teaches in short and fun segments, as these are easier
for children to focus on. Many short, enjoyable repetitions
as opposed to one big session improves learning. The concept
of short, fun sessions integrated with play to help avoid
boredom leads to better learning. This holds true for class
work also. Are the classes boring and repetitions or are
the human students kept on their toes and having fun?
Quadratic Equations: How many of us remember how
to factor these from Algebra? Probably not many! Why? Well,
if you do not practice something regularly and use it in
regular life, the behavior grows rusty. You knew how to
factor Quadratic Equations in High School because you had
to practice and learn to pass exams. Similar to dog training:
not enough practice and refreshers when needed, the behaviors
will grow rusty.
No Allowance: I do not like harsh corrections when
training. But many owners think that this is the only way
to train a dog. I prefer to teach them to refuse allowances
to their dogs. They are told to get a special treat (allowance)
or toy the dog gets ONLY when training. If the dog does
a behavior well, say a sit, he gets a happy "GOOD!" (or
click if clicker training) and then the treat or toy follows.
If the dog does not sit, he gets cued wrong with a low,
"AHHH! AHHH!" and that treat or toy gets taken away. Think
of it like giving a child an allowance. Child has a list
of things they must do each week in order to get that reward.
If the child fails to do the list, hopefully you would not
beat him for it. Rather, you would give them a sterner voice
and a "Hey, you did not do it, you do not get your allowance
this time." Simple: dog does the behavior, dog gets an immediate
cue correct (or click) when he does well, and he gets his
allowance. No behavior, cue that he has lost that allowance
Reverse Clicker Training: There is no perfect way
to train all dogs. I have dogs I am working with who are
terrified of sharp noises and the clicks scare them. I have
owners who do not want to use clickers. But I also have
dogs that respond better to the click than the verbal cueing
of a correct behavior (and a voice can never be forgotten
at home). If you clicker train a student, instead of a clicker,
substitute a bell or whistle for this. If you are not clicker
training the dog, use a clicker for this. I use Reverse
Clicker Training to help teach timing. Looking at two students
of mine:
One student was slow in her cue correct for a behavior
correctly done. She was cueing too late. The dog learned
that the command had a different action than what the
owner wanted. I had another student who was too slow in
redirection and refocusing her pup. She was losing the
pup's confidence in her. The pup was confused and responded
by ignoring her! Pup had NO idea what she wanted because
her timing was inconsistent. What was my solution? REVERSE
CLICKER TRAINING OF THE HUMAN! If the handler hears the
clicker (or bell or whistle) they have missed the opportunity
to cue right or redirect the dog back. If the owner hears
the click, he has NO RIGHT to continue, cue correct or
cue wrong. The exercise stops and is started all over.
Handlers learn fast they do not want to hear the click.
I have watched the humans start to focus more on the dog
and what they are doing. I have found this a very effective
way to retrain humans and improve their timing.
Drill Sergeant or Mr. Rogers: I have taken my dogs
through many programs over the years. When I bring in a new
dog, I find programs other than mine for socializing purposes.
A common complaint I hear from students is the trainers are
Drill Sergeants and the students feel belittled. No matter
how good a trainer is, if there are poor people skills, students
will not learn effectively. Is this fair? How do you treat
students? Do you badger them when they are wrong? Do you yell
and holler out commands? Do you expect precision obedience
out of people who do not care if a sit is perfectly straight
as long as the dog sits? If a student is having trouble do
you badger them and beat their confidence down? Or, do you
point out even the smallest improvement? Do you take the time
to trouble shoot different methods of motivating the dog and
teaching the behaviors? Are you scary or inviting? Do you
break confidence or build it up? I expected in every class
to have at least one person drop out for whatever reason.
I even had a person leave without even finishing the first
class exclaiming, "Dogs are too much work!" I try to make
classes inviting and find the progress made no matter how
small. You should not physically or verbally beat a dog into
learning nor should you beat a handler. Even wording can make
a difference: "You're doing this wrong. Stop!" Or, would you
prefer to hear: "I see you are having a problem. Relax for
a moment and let's see if we can't figure out a new way to
help your dog."
Real World: No amount of lessons will cut it if
the owners do not learn how to practically apply them. So
the dog can sit – when should he sit? Well, sitting calmly
is great for greeting people. What about recalls? How many
of us learned recalls by putting the dog on a sit-stay and
then calling? Is this real world? No. Real world is the
dog is off sniffing something and then you need to get him
back. Help the average dog owner discover how to apply a
lesson to everyday life. And do not forget that practical
application also means taking the dog to new places to practice!
90% of dog training is the handlers. If I can make class fun
and understandable for them, the dogs should turn out just fine.
