How To Start Dog Training PT#2

The Puppy’s Early Experiences :-

Dog training begins virtually at birth. Dogs that are handled and petted by humans regularly during the first eight weeks of life are generally much more amenable to being trained and living in human households. Ideally, puppies should be placed in their permanent homes between about 8 and 10 weeks of age.

In some places it is against the law to take puppies away from their mothers before the age of 8 weeks. Before this age, puppies are still learning tremendous amounts of socialization skills from their mother. Puppies are innately more fearful of new things during the period from 10 to 12 weeks, which makes it harder for them to adapt to a new home.

Puppies can begin learning tricks and commands as early as 8 to 12 weeks of age; the only limitations are the pup’s stamina, concentration and physical coordination. It is much easier to live with young dogs that have already learned basic commands such as “sit”. Waiting until the puppy is much older and larger and has already learned bad habits makes the training much more difficult.

Who Is The Boss?

One of the things that you can do right from the start is to show the dog that you are the boss.

Showing your dog that you are the boss or “alpha male” will work because your dog always thinks that you are a pack member. That is how dogs view their relationships with owners. In the world of a pack, there is always an alpha male.

That alpha male is always the leader that dogs will respect and follow. The alpha dog is the most powerful among the pack and this makes him respected.

You need to show the dog that you are the boss while it is still a puppy, if possible. If you are not able to show that you are the alpha male, the dog may become aggressive.

Dogs will be happier when they know that you are the boss. They will gain a sense of security and confidence from having a leader to follow.

The owner can establish him or herself as a good leader by projecting strength through the use of a steady and deep voice, giving rewards when good behavior is present and reacting nonchalantly toward situations that makes a dog nervous.

If your dog is fully grown, it is still possible to establish that you are the “alpha male” just by following the same approaches as above, although it can be more challenging if the dog is not young.

Positive Motivation

Reward training is often seen as the most modern method of training a dog, but reward training is probably much older than other methods of dog training. It is possible that reward training for dogs has been around as long as there have been dogs to train.

Many principles of modern reward training date back many decades. However, what is called reward training today has only enjoyed its remarkable popularity for the past ten or fifteen years.

Many reward training enthusiasts are less enthusiastic about other methods of dog training, such as the traditional leash and collar method. However, the best approach for training any individual dog is often a combination of leash/collar training and reward training.

In addition, a training method that works perfectly for one dog may be totally inappropriate for another, and vice versa. Some dogs respond wonderfully to reward training and not at all to leash and collar training, while others respond to leash/collar training and are not at all motivated by reward training. Most dogs fall somewhere in the middle of these two extremes so respond best to a combination of both methods.

What Is Clicker Training?

Clicker training is one of the most popular forms of reward training these days. While clicker training is not the answer for every dog, it can be a remarkably effective method of training many dogs. In clicker training, the dog is taught to associate a clicking sound with a reward, like a treat. The trainer clicks the clicker when the dog does something good, followed immediately by a treat. Eventually, the dog learns to respond to the clicker alone.

Most reward training uses some sort of food reward, or a reward that is associated with getting food, although praise is also a very effective type of reward. In most cases, complex behaviors can only be taught using this kind of positive reinforcement, and you will find that the people who train dogs for movies and television use reward training almost exclusively.

Reward training sometimes incorporates the use of a lure in order to get the dog into the position desired by the trainer. The lure is used to get the dog to perform the desired behavior on his or her own and of his or her own free will.

It makes a great deal of sense to get the dog to perform the desired behavior without any physical intervention on the part of the handler.

Getting the dog to perform a behavior without being touched is important.

After the dog has performed the desired behavior, it is given a reward, also called a “positive reinforcement”. Treats are often used as reinforcers, but praise, such as “good dog” (in a positive tone of voice) or a pat on the head, can also be effective rewards.

Many dog trainers make the mistake of only training the dog inside the house or back yard, and only when the handler is there. In order to become a reliably trained companion, the dog must be taken outside the confines of its safety zone and introduced to novel situations.

It is also important to teach the dog to pay attention to the handler at all times . . . having the attention of the dog means having control of the dog. Reward training is very effective at getting the respect and the attention of the dog when used properly.

Positive And Negative Motivations For Your Dog

There are a lot of things people have to remember when they start dog training. There are a lot of different dog training techniques to try. With so many different aspects of dog training, it is sometimes hard to know what techniques work the best.

One of the biggest things that often confuse people with regards to dog training is when to reward your dog and when to reprimand your dog.

Most dog training course instructors will tell you that positive dog training is the best technique to utilize. Unfortunately, there are some instances when you do have to reprimand your dog.

Reprimanding your dog should not happen often as dogs respond better to positive reinforcement used in dog training. Before you learn when to reprimand your dog, you should first learn when to reward your dog.

You should reward your dog any time your dog does something it is supposed to during dog training. This can be when it sits, stays, eliminates where it should, fetches, etc. and the reward you use during your dog training can be many things: praise, kind words, tummy rub, pat on the head, or a treat.

Dogs learn very quickly from positive dog training. Dogs tend to want to make you happy and this is why they do so well with this type of dog training. However, be sure you never reward bad behavior. For a young dog, bear in mind that it will not always be so young and light in weight, so don’t reward behaviors that will be unwanted when it’s a big dog later on, such as jumping up on people.

Reprimanding is a type of dog training that should not be done unless necessary. This can be when your dog jumps, eliminates in the wrong place, barks, growls, pulls on a leash, destroys something, etc. You must only reprimand your dog if you catch it in the act of doing something wrong otherwise, your dog will not realize what it did. The reprimand used for this dog training should be a quick, sharp “no” or “bad dog.”

Your tone should be angry, but remember to be short and quick. If you constantly do this, your words will end up being ignored by the dog. Never spank, hit, or constantly scold your dog as this will only lead to more problems in the future.

These are all of the important things you need to focus on when determining when to reprimand or reward your dog during dog training. Remember to be patient because your dog is learning and trying its best.

With some love and consideration, your dog should do quite well with its dog training which will be a rewarding experience for you both!

How Dog Training Works.

Most training revolves around giving the dog consequences for his behavior, in the hope of influencing the behavior the dog will exhibit in the future. Operant conditioning defines four types of consequences:

Positive reinforcement adds something to the situation to increase the chance of the behavior being exhibited again (for example, giving a dog a treat when he sits.)

Negative reinforcement removes something from the situation to increase the chance of the behavior being exhibited again (for example, releasing the tension on an uncomfortable training collar when the dog stops pulling on the leash).

Positive punishment adds something to the situation to decrease the chance of the behavior being exhibited again (for example, growling at a misbehaving dog).

Negative punishment removes something from the situation to decrease the chance of the behavior being exhibited again (for example, walking away from a dog who jumps up).

Most modern trainers say that they use “positive training methods”, which is a different meaning of the word “positive” from that in operant conditioning. “Positive training methods” generally means preferring the use of reward-based training to increase good behavior over that of physical punishment to decrease bad behavior. However, a good trainer understands all four methods, whether or not she can put operant-conditioning terminology to them, and applies them as appropriate for the dog, the breed, the handler, and the situation.

Rewards For Dogs

Positive reinforcers can be anything that the dog finds rewarding – special food treats, the chance to play with a tug toy, social interaction with other dogs, or the owners attention. The more rewarding a dog finds a particular reinforcer, the more work he will be prepared to do in order to obtain the reinforcer.

Some trainers go through a process of teaching a puppy to strongly desire a particular toy, in order to make the toy a more powerful positive reinforcer for good behavior. This process is called “building prey drive”, and is commonly used in the training of Narcotics Detection and Police Service dogs. The goal is to produce a dog who will work independently for long periods of time.

Some trainers believe that the toy acts as a positive reinforcer for the desired behavior, when in all likelihood the prey drive works on an entirely different level from standard training and conditioning techniques. This is seen most clearly in the fact that, according to the laws of operant conditioning, positive reinforcers lose their effectiveness if they’re given every single time a dog does what is desired of him; the more predictable the reinforcer, the less reliable the behavior. Yet detection dogs only work well when they are always rewarded with a toy, every single time they find drugs or explosives, etc. The reason for this disparity is that when a dog is trained through the prey drive, the training activates an instinctive, automatic sequence that has to be completed in order for the dog to feel satisfied. That sequence is: search, eye-stalk, chase, grab-bite, and kill bite. So when a dog searches and finds drugs or explosives, he feels he hasn’t finished his job unless he can bite something. This is the primary reason he’s always given the toy. It’s not really a positive reinforcer. If it were it would reduce the reliability of the behavior overall. It’s a means of completing the predatory sequence for the dog.

Sometimes, giving food rewards for a dog can lead to an overweight dog. The solution to this is simple:- for rewards, take food out of the dog’s daily food allowance.

Punishments

“Positive punishment” is probably the consequence that is least used by modern dog trainers, as it must be used very carefully. A dog is generally only given this type of punishment if it is willfully disobeying the owner. Punishing a dog who does not understand what is being asked of him is not only unfair to the dog, but can make the dog a fearful or unwilling worker.

Punishments are administered only as appropriate for the dog’s personality, age, and experience. A sharp “No” works for many dogs, but some dogs even show signs of fear or anxiety with harsh verbal corrections. On the other hand, certain dogs with ‘harder’ temperaments may ignore a verbal reprimand, and may work best if the reprimand is coupled with a physical punishment such as a quick tug on a training collar. Trainers generally advise keeping hand contact with the dog to positive interactions; if hands are used to threaten or hurt, some dogs may begin to behave defensively when stroked or handled.

Avoiding Punishment

Keeping a puppy on a leash in challenging situations or in his crate or pen when not closely supervised prevents the puppy from getting into situations that might otherwise invite an owner’s harsh reaction (such as chewing up a favorite pair of shoes).

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