Dangerous Trend in Dog Training

As a dog trainer, a lot of my job is a delicate balance of training dogs, and training their humans. It can be a unique field because I need to make my client, and their dog happy. I’ve been professionally training for about six years now and have been able to shadow talented trainers. Balancing the owner’s wants and the dog’s needs is not always as simple as it sounds.

There is a trend emerging in our culture that’s leaking into dog training and I feel needs to be addressed—the curse of instant gratification. Now I am not going to claim to be exempt from wanting everything now, for example, we have Amazon Prime, food and grocery delivery, let alone so much knowledge at our fingertips! In dog training, this can look like wanting your dog to do a 180. From barking, jumping, and eating things, to a calm, collected, well-behaved robodog.

Why is this damaging? It’s not realistic. Dogs are animals, and animals (just like us!) don’t change overnight. Is it possible? Sure, but only under stress and pressure. Expecting your dog to stop a behavior that they have been practicing for so long on a dime is extremely stressful and overwhelming. Give your dog grace.

Wanting instant results with your dog training is also dangerous because dog training is an unregulated field. Anyone can market themselves as a dog trainer with no repercussions. So if you want a trainer that will scare your dog into doing a behavioral 180, unfortunately, you can't find them. This is detrimental to our dogs. They are extremely intelligent animals and deserve so much more than that.

Everyone wants their dog trained but without the hard work, time, dedication, and relationship-building behind it.

Why do dogs respond to people without treats or toys? Two reasons, it’s worth it for the dog, and the dog respects their owner. So it has to be worth it, meaning the dog has to think there’s something in it for them. Dogs are pattern animals, so if you practice “sit” with your dog 100 times and they always get a treat afterward, they are going to expect that treat. Because you patterned that “sit” means your dog gets a treat, the command “sit” starts to become just as rewarding as the treat. This is called reward history. It is a magical thing. Do not skip out on it in your training.

Now, Respect. This is a big topic in dog training because Alpha Theory (the idea that you have to show your dog you are alpha to get them to listen) is rampant in dog training and yet not very well understood. First off, we cannot use wolves to understand dog behavior because wolves and dogs are only related by an extent ancestor, Miacis. Therefore wolf behavior has evolved since then, and dogs have been domesticated, which also majorly changed their behavior.

As far as pack theory, or Alpha theory. This topic is heavily misunderstood, even in just wolf behavior. Wolves’ social structures are incredibly fluid and packs function as a family unit, not as a dictatorship where the lowest on the totem pole is constantly being “put in their place”. Even the words “Alpha” and “Dominance” are conflated from what ecologists originally meant them to be.

We think of Alpha as the one who is bigger, stronger, more powerful, and meaner than everyone else, but those are simply our human definitions. In ecology, Alpha is the group leader. To become Alpha you control resources. As we know in our human world, there are many ways to be put in a position of power.

I could go on about this topic, but if you are interested in learning more Do some research into Dr. Clive Wynne, a behavioral scientist. I enjoyed his episode on a podcast called “Drinking From The Toilet” by Hannah Branigan (episode 177).

So back to respect, how do we get it from our dogs? The biggest thing I see owners not do is be consistent. If you are consistent, you are trustworthy, if you are trustworthy and hold boundaries, you're respectable.

Let me give you an example. You ask your dog to sit, they sit, and you give them a treat. Now someone knocks at the door, you tell your dog to sit, but they are too excited to sit, so you give up and open the door. Congratulations, you just taught your dog not to listen, and that you are not consistent. Granted, your dog likely gets over excited at the door and hadn’t learned to sit when so excitable, therefore was not ready for that. So if you don’t have the time to reinforce what you are asking, don’t ask!

This is just a small example but it happens in so many other areas with our dogs. For most of us, anytime we are home our dogs are watching us, and they are smart! They are learning from your behavior and making conclusions following what they see.

To tie everything together, our inconsistency as owners is another reason that overly punishment-based training is not the answer. Sure, you may get your dog to listen and change their behavior because they are afraid to do xzy. But how is it fair to ask consistency of your dog when you're the one giving mixed signals?

Why are you expecting change from your dog when you can’t be consistent enough to show them what you want?

Don’t hate the messenger! I know this can be hard to hear, but take a second to think about it. Let us not allow our dogs to be damaged by the results we want instantly. Dogs are smart, and they can learn quickly! Just give them the grace of time and opportunity to learn first.

Happy Training!

A Guide Puppy Training

Puppies. They are cute for good reason, aren’t they?! Every time I get a puppy I somehow seem to forget how much work they are! Quite literally a full-time job! Puppies require a lot of attention, and that can make things very hard especially when juggling all of life’s responsibilities outside of that. Here’s a comprehensive guide to how I raise a picture-perfect puppy!

Step one is making sure you are finding a breed or personality that fits you and your lifestyle well. Talk with others who have experienced the breed, and ask them all the characteristics, good and bad so you can be prepared! Knowing the breed and their history will give you good insight to what they might need. It’s important to look into their energy needs, and drives, outside of just how cute they look!

Okay, you have your eight-week-old puppy! What’s next? Many people want to jump right into teaching the basics, sit, down, etc. Although there’s nothing wrong with this, it is not my first priority. Starting to build a relationship with a new puppy and developing a routine is critical! Soak up the puppy cuteness! I like to spend lots of time playing with toys, seeing what their preferences are in toys and how they like to play. This will change with age, but starting to identify your dog’s interests and engaging with them will help build a relationship.

Next is feeding. Young puppies need to be fed 3-4 times a day. This is a great time to use treats to start training. I never give young puppies treats, as they can have pretty sensitive stomachs, so for meals instead of ploping a bowl on the ground, hand feed them! Simply having them eat out of your hand is beneficial to relationship building, and you can have them do some training as well! I would spend the most time introducing puppies to new objects, such as plastic bags, getting them to walk over them, or anything else that may be scary or odd to your new pup. Confidence building is best done during developmental periods, verses basic obedience can be easily taught at all ages. The other thing I would be focusing on during mealtimes is crate games! The crate is critical to potty training, and I also want to build a positive association with the crate, so feeding inside the kennel, tossing treats in there, and anything else to make it fun (more on making the crate fun in an upcoming blog!).

Pottying! Depending on breed and size, puppies need frequent potty breaks. One of the key rules to remember is potty after everything! Done playing for a bit? Take a potty break. Just fed them? Take a potty break. Just woke up from a nap? Take a potty break. After every activity there should be a potty break! Young puppies need to potty every hour, some even more than that. If you notice your puppy wandering around and sniffing that can be a signal they need to go! The best way to teach them to go outside is to only let them go outside! Of course you won’t be perfect, and that’s okay, but do your best!

I recommend kenneling puppies overnight, to avoid any accidents, and this helps make the crate a comfortable safe space for them. Keeping the crate in your bedroom is helpful, as they are used to sleeping with all their littermates. Make sure your kennel is just big enough for them to turn around and lay down comfortably. This is very important to stop them from pottying in their crate. Dogs are generally very clean, and do not want to sleep where they go to the bathroom. Two to three potty breaks throughout the night is a good rule to start with. If you work eight hour days and are unable to stop home, having a friend or dog sitter to come let them out, feed them, and get some playtime in is super beneficial.

There is so much more that can be said for puppies, but hopefully these tips help you get started. Soak up puppy time, although it’s frustrating you will miss puppyhood before you know it!

Jumping!

When working on behaviors, it's important to identify the cause of the issue so we can properly address it and communicate it to our dogs. Jumping on people is not an instinctual behavior for dogs, but even as young puppies, dogs learn quickly that jumping generally gets them what they want attention! This tends to turn into a greeting ritual very quickly for pets. As well as a behavior that shows up when dogs get over-excited!

That being said, there are several ways to stop jumping in dogs. Keeping in mind the way we reinforce jumping by giving attention, so being talked to, touched, pet, etc. That can all be reinforcement to jump more for dogs. It's also very important to evaluate our energy. That can sound a little weird, but if we come home baby talking to our dog and acting excited, they will feed off of that and act excited as well. Which can be hard when we are equally as excited to see our furry friends!

The easiest way to stop jumping is just to ignore it. Ignoring them until they have “four on the floor”. If they jump again, ignore them again until they are back on the floor. Try to stay calm and limit talking. You can also try turning your back to them when they jump. It's important to keep in mind, that your dog may have been previously rewarded with attention when jumping. So when working on this behavior, it's important to recognize that there is a learning curve for your dog, and a period of confusion where they may become worse, because they don’t understand why it “isn't working” for them anymore, so it can take time.

Something else to try, especially if your dog is very treat motivated, is to have some treats ready, and then when you come inside or go to greet your dog, scatter the treats on the floor for them. You can even roll them to make them more interesting and fun! When your dog finishes eating all the treats, have one ready for them and drop it right at your feet. Then you can start petting and greeting your dog as they are eating!

For some dogs, they will continue to jump even if ignored. Or they are too big and powerful to put up with their jumping! For these dogs, I continue to use the technique of staying calm, not over-exciting your dog, and not rewarding their behavior with attention. When the dog jumps up on you, lift a knee into their chest. For many dogs, they don’t expect it, and they get the point. Some dogs may need a bit firmer of a knee to the chest, but it should never be a kicking or punting motion.

The last way to work on jumping with your pup is to utilize the leash! If your dog is still struggling with jumping on you, use a leash that you can grab not to allow the jumping on you. If your dog jumps, grab the leash and pull them back to the ground, and remember, don't give them attention for jumping! If this is a big struggle, I recommend purchasing a tab leash to grab without your dog dragging around a big leash!

Greeting other people

Especially when meeting new people, have your dog on a leash. It's always best to communicate to guests the other techniques and ask them to remain calm and not pet when your dog is jumping, but sometimes dogs are easier to train than humans! Have a leash on your dog, and give them slack to greet someone. When they jump, tug your leash, and call your dog to you, reward them with a treat they enjoy when they come back, and then go allow them to try again.

Pro Tips

• Be consistent!

Ensure everyone your dog interacts with implements the techniques

• Reinforce “four on the floor”

give your dog treats, or attention when they are not jumping!

• Use multiple techniques together!