How to Train Brainy -- Teach a Dog to Respond to Commands (Beginners)

1. Command
2. Elicit--Get the dog to do what you want
   
3. Release
4. Reward
   

Command alone is not training. Elicit alone is not training. Reward alone is not training.

Punishment alone is definitely not an effective way to change behavior, because dogs are not THAT different from humans! In the immortal words of Peter Gibbons in "Office Space" --

"When I make a mistake, I have eight different people coming by to tell me about it. That's my only real motivation is not to be hassled, that, and the fear of losing my job. But you know, Bob, that will only make someone work just hard enough not to get fired."

Most of us want the dog to work eagerly, with enthusiasm, and in partnership with us. If your primary goal is for the dog to "respect" (fear) you, you have an ego problem. You should really talk to someone about why you feel so powerless as to find it rewarding to intimidate furry creatures under 3 feet tall. Can dominance be an issue? Yes. Can dominance (social status) affect response to commands? Yes. Does it have any place in the teaching of command response? No way.


The challenge of #2, Getting the dog to do what you want, is that you have to do two things at once. There are 2 parts to getting the dog to do what you want. One is what I call "eliciting" the behavior--showing the dog what you want, helping the dog to get the right answer. The other is communication -- what I call "steering" the behavior via feedback. The more often you and your dog work together doing 2 things at once, the easier it becomes.

"Eliciting" the behavior is generally what most trainers offer as "tips". For example, moving a treat over a puppy's head often results in the puppy sitting. This is one way to elicit the sit behavior. Another way is hands-on physical guiding of the puppy. Some trainers use a collar and leash to show the dog what they want. Still other trainers will simply wait for the dog to accidentally sit. These are all effective methods, and you may have thought of another that works!

Using distractions, distracting the dog back to focus on you, such as a noise or noisemaker, a tickle (lightly touching the dog, moving the hair against direction of growth) are part of eliciting. Some trainers use a leash & flat or other collar to do this. You've got to be watched by a trainer to use the leash distraction effectively.

"Feedback" is the harder of the two parts. To communicate the meaning of "good" and "no", you must teach what those mean AS you are teaching response to commands. And, while you do that, it is CRITICAL that your timing of any action or word is dead-on!

See why dog training is not quite as easy as it looks on TV? There is an intense amount of "juggling" you must do!

"Good" is the word you repeat as long as the dog is doing the right thing. Eventually, you will be able to use just the word "good", but in the beginning, you must communicate its meaning. Give 1 treat after each good.

"No" is a little red "X". "No" means "that's not what I want right now". It doesn't mean "never do that again", and even if you try to mean it, most dogs won't understand a single "no" to mean that, anyway! It does not mean "I will eat you". It does not mean "I will not tolerate that". It just means "no". In the "hot or cold" game we all played as kids, it's "cold" -- "you are not getting closer to the right answer".

To communicate the meaning of "no", there are a number of non-physical consequences that are effective.
Physical consequences should NEVER be instituted by a beginning trainer (owner) on a beginning dog. Any physical consequence you use should be directly supervised by a trainer who has effectively used this consequence. Although it is stated many times on "The Dog Whisperer", most beginners don't realize that physical consequence is ALWAYS "Do not try this at home". Appropriate physical consequence is a matter of some debate in the training community. While there is disagreement, I know of NO reputable trainer who would suggest hitting, kicking, swatting, using newspapers, sticks, or other similar attacks to your dog. Don't attack your dog if you are trying teach your dog not to attack.

Effective non-physical "No" consequences:

• moving treat farther from dog's nose
• breaking eye contact
• walking away from dog -- leaving training area/context (Don't leave dog with access to treats!)
• putting treat container back
• putting leash away instead of attaching for walk
  
• moving dog to time-out of 30-60 seconds or until dog is calm & relaxed

The opposite of all of these consequences is understood by your dog as a reward:

• treat moving closer
• paying attention/eye contact
• initiating training exercise or training session
• getting treat container out
• attaching the leash
• releasing the dog from time-out area

Part #3 is the part everyone always forgets, resulting in the dog who "won't stay" because he doesn't know when he is done staying! By clearly marking the beginning and end of a behavior, you can clearly communicate your expectations to your dog--who, by the way, cannot read yoru mind!

Part #4 is typically food at the most basic stages of training, but to take it to the next level, it is important to understand all the other non-food rewards that can motivate a dog's behavior.

Use your brain! Have fun training!