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!
