Mistakes are an unavoidable part of learning. Are they an essential component of learning? No, not really. There's some new human cognition research supports this idea, and I'd expect a parallel concept to apply to canine cognition.
In theory, perfectly designed learning experiences would prevent all mistakes. In practice, the mistakes help us design more and more perfect learning experiences. The mistakes help us see where the gaps in learning truly are.
For example, a dog trainer's client repeatedly uses the word "No" where a command cue, not a feedback cue, is appropriate. The trainer realizes: "Hey, we need to discuss a LEAVE IT command."
Ideally, the trainer would have been able to download this idea to the client's brain during the first few moments of interaction. Practically, the client had so many other, more pressing issues to process, that introducing this concept first would likely have resulted in the same lack of learning.
Another example is a dog's idea of a SIT. A dog who has difficulty sitting in the proper HEEL position (aligned with & adjacent to the handler's feet, not angled toward or away from handler, not ahead or behind handler, not too close to handler or too far away) may have an idea that SIT is something you only do when someone is standing or when someone is in front of you or when someone is close to you.
SIT should be simply a rump-lowering manueuver, regardless of where you are, where your handler is, or what your handler is doing -- at least, if it is going to be used as an instructional prompt in the HEEL exercise! (If you teach SITs only in the space in front of your feet, SIT really becomes a recall cue because it means "plop yourself in front of my feet". Do as you wish with this knowledge.)
The idea is easy to recognize when mistakes fall into the above kinds of less emotionally-charged categories. But when mistakes include pulse-raisers like cringing, shivering, staring, teeth-baring, hackles-raising, growling, tail-thrashing, lunging, ... It's difficult to keep the perspective that these are simply indicators of where learning needs to occur!
I am not attempting to minimize the seriousness of any of these behaviors. These are indeed very, extremely serious behaviors, and addressing them should only occur under supervision of a qualified professional. I am also not suggesting that all of these behaviors can be sufficiently addressed to make a dog a safe pet! Some dogs have simply been the unfortunate recipients of a imperfect storm of genetics, upbringing, and/or management. Not every dog should be considered "just in need of some training". Some would be better off in a sanctuary, and, if one is not available, in the interest of best addressing needs that cannot be met -- well, the Best Day Ever should end with a trip across the Rainbow Bridge.
A solid learning experience is designed to elicit significantly more successes than errors, but also anticipates the occurrence of errors. How do we handle them? How can we minimize their impact? Do we ignore them? Do we (humanely) punish them? If so, how? What does a specific mistake indicate that we need to re-teach? At what point do we go back to the drawing board? These are issues you should discuss with your trainer.
Because errors can come from both ends of the leash, many owners feel that they are to blame for every mistake their dog makes. This is blatantly untrue. Every dog is different, and what one dog chose to do in a given context is not necessarily what another one would have. Owners & dogs who are shy, anxious, damaged, even neurotic do seem to find each other, but this is not to say that one causes all the behaviors of the other!
Sometimes, though, it is the human's error. Apart from immediate, "in the moment" errors, like missing a click or feedback marker or release word, which are recognized by most humans immediately, errors in judgment are often more typical of the kind of mistakes humans make.
Instead of keeping my dog on leash at twilight on a cool, damp August evening while walking through a cornfield frequented by deer, like any sensible dog owner would -- I didn't. I'm a dog trainer, after all! After some mind-bogglingly awesome responses to sit and down commands (from motion, no less), I released her from a SIT, looked to see what had caught her attention, and watched the blur of fur that was her get smaller and smaller as two deer lead her through the field. Yes, I got her back & no one died (my sole criteria for "a good off-leash experience"), but to call the event a high-value reward for release from the sit? Well, as much as I'd like to, even I can't quite convince myself that the judgment call was a good one!
Instead of training their dogs during puppyhood, a charming couple decided to simply give the dogs whatever the dogs "needed", which the dogs would communicate to them. Dogs don't lie, after all. Apparently, what the dogs "needed" was to fight with each other, occasionally biting their owners in the process. Since the owners had done no training to establish any kind of communication skills, nor were there any learned behaviors on cue, the kind of interventions that could have addressed the friction before it erupted were impossible. Fortunately, these owners realized in fairly short order the error of their ways and contacted a qualified, experienced professional.
Mistakes are definitely undesirable & unpleasant, and consequences are something all teachers wish they could shield their students from, but they will happen. They say that good decisions come from experience -- and experience comes from bad decisions!
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
Leadership versus Dominance
Leadership is a grossly misunderstood concept. Leadership is often associated with words like “dominance”, “alpha”, “authority”, “respect”, and “challenge”. Rarely, if ever, is it associated with the word “trust”. Which may explain the tremendous lack of demonstrated leadership present in today’s human society!
Leadership is a role that requires the earning of trust from followers. Trust cannot be demanded. Force (the tool of the Dominator) creates resistance. Trust can only be given, not taken. Leadership, unlike "dominance", requires followers to CHOOSE to follow. Trust is broken in a heartbeat, but repaired, re-earned, only over a long period of time--not hours, but days, weeks, even months or years. Sometimes, it's irreparably broken.
An individual dog always has the right to choose whether to follow another dog or not. Even the most severe aggression will not force an individual dog to follow a leader it does not willingly choose to follow. It is only the benefit offered by the leader that encourages a follower to follow.
Whether we are referring to corporate management, family structure, or canine management, the basic principles of effective leadership remain the same:
To lead is to set the example. To design structure of activities. To plan. To create expectations. To minimize conflict. To intervene and mediate conflict. To consider the best interests of all parties when creating boundaries or structure. To listen as often as speak. To compromise your own ego, your immediate interests for the benefit of all parties, putting the needs of your followers before your own. A good leader builds willing cooperation.
To “dominate” is to bully. To ignore the needs of your followers when it conflicts with your own personal interests or desires. To repress free will. To have one-directional conversations. The product of domination is conflict, since only one party’s will or desire is considered, but all parties have needs. The “dominator” forces “cooperation” (compliance).
Among households with canine family members, lack of leadership is a common cause for serious problem behaviors. Failing to plan is planning to fail, they say. Responsibility for leadership issues is often shifted to the dog, calling the dog "dominant".
While a dog may have strong leadership tendencies or even capabilities, it is the yielding of follow that creates a leader. When a human or another dog reacts, rather than initiates, that individual is following. Interestingly, this "reaction" is the very hallmark of application of "dominance" techniques-- wait for the dog to screw up, then intervene. Who is leading who?
Waiting for the car to run off the road before steering is obviously a bad idea. But somehow "because dogs aren't like us", this approach is often attempted.
Sadly, I've seen a well-intentioned "positive" approach used in the same way. The dog jumps up, THEN the person asks for a SIT. This is ineffective for so many reasons, now "positive" training has been misidentified as the cause of ineffectiveness.
The key to leadership for your canine pals is developing the ability to read the current situation, anticipate what behaviors come next, identify "crossroad" moments when steering is needed, and a toolbox full of ways to elicit the behavior you want BEFORE an undesirable behavior emerges.
I'm often asked by folks with dogs displaying aggression toward other dogs what to do if the dogs get into a fight, again, reflecting the "follow the dog" backwards approach. Some people are looking to use the fight to "teach their dog a lesson". Others are simply trying to prevent injury to the dogs.
Returning to our model of leadership as steering the car, PREVENTION is the key strategy to address accidents. Maybe there's that 1-in-a-million race car driver out there who can adeptly intervene WHILE the car is crashing--maybe. But if you were that 1-in-a-million dog owner who could effectively intervene while your dog was in a fight...your dog wouldn't be in a fight to begin with!
Once you've "crashed the car", once you've missed the "crossroad moment" where you needed to steer the behavior in the correct direction, once the dog has jumped or barked or lunged -- the dog's learning is out the window. You may be able to use the moment to learn how to handle such a circumstance, but the dog's learning for application to future interactions has ceased.
By learning to lead effectively, you will not see the "crashes"!
Leadership is a role that requires the earning of trust from followers. Trust cannot be demanded. Force (the tool of the Dominator) creates resistance. Trust can only be given, not taken. Leadership, unlike "dominance", requires followers to CHOOSE to follow. Trust is broken in a heartbeat, but repaired, re-earned, only over a long period of time--not hours, but days, weeks, even months or years. Sometimes, it's irreparably broken.
An individual dog always has the right to choose whether to follow another dog or not. Even the most severe aggression will not force an individual dog to follow a leader it does not willingly choose to follow. It is only the benefit offered by the leader that encourages a follower to follow.
Whether we are referring to corporate management, family structure, or canine management, the basic principles of effective leadership remain the same:
To lead is to set the example. To design structure of activities. To plan. To create expectations. To minimize conflict. To intervene and mediate conflict. To consider the best interests of all parties when creating boundaries or structure. To listen as often as speak. To compromise your own ego, your immediate interests for the benefit of all parties, putting the needs of your followers before your own. A good leader builds willing cooperation.
To “dominate” is to bully. To ignore the needs of your followers when it conflicts with your own personal interests or desires. To repress free will. To have one-directional conversations. The product of domination is conflict, since only one party’s will or desire is considered, but all parties have needs. The “dominator” forces “cooperation” (compliance).
Among households with canine family members, lack of leadership is a common cause for serious problem behaviors. Failing to plan is planning to fail, they say. Responsibility for leadership issues is often shifted to the dog, calling the dog "dominant".
While a dog may have strong leadership tendencies or even capabilities, it is the yielding of follow that creates a leader. When a human or another dog reacts, rather than initiates, that individual is following. Interestingly, this "reaction" is the very hallmark of application of "dominance" techniques-- wait for the dog to screw up, then intervene. Who is leading who?
Waiting for the car to run off the road before steering is obviously a bad idea. But somehow "because dogs aren't like us", this approach is often attempted.
Sadly, I've seen a well-intentioned "positive" approach used in the same way. The dog jumps up, THEN the person asks for a SIT. This is ineffective for so many reasons, now "positive" training has been misidentified as the cause of ineffectiveness.
The key to leadership for your canine pals is developing the ability to read the current situation, anticipate what behaviors come next, identify "crossroad" moments when steering is needed, and a toolbox full of ways to elicit the behavior you want BEFORE an undesirable behavior emerges.
I'm often asked by folks with dogs displaying aggression toward other dogs what to do if the dogs get into a fight, again, reflecting the "follow the dog" backwards approach. Some people are looking to use the fight to "teach their dog a lesson". Others are simply trying to prevent injury to the dogs.
Returning to our model of leadership as steering the car, PREVENTION is the key strategy to address accidents. Maybe there's that 1-in-a-million race car driver out there who can adeptly intervene WHILE the car is crashing--maybe. But if you were that 1-in-a-million dog owner who could effectively intervene while your dog was in a fight...your dog wouldn't be in a fight to begin with!
Once you've "crashed the car", once you've missed the "crossroad moment" where you needed to steer the behavior in the correct direction, once the dog has jumped or barked or lunged -- the dog's learning is out the window. You may be able to use the moment to learn how to handle such a circumstance, but the dog's learning for application to future interactions has ceased.
By learning to lead effectively, you will not see the "crashes"!
Monday, August 24, 2009
A "Routine" for Walks
Most dog owners, trainers, behaviorists, veterinarians, etc, agree that walking and outings provide an essential daily component of dog life.
What many dog owners don't realize is... Need = REWARD.
For many dogs, the reward of a walk is so alluring, so powerful, that even the most scrumptious edibles pale by comparison. Even the discomfort of leaning on a flat collar or twisting your face on a headcollar or pinches from a pinch collar often fail to distract you from the surge of elation you feel when anticipating a walk! The reward is totally worth any hassle to try to get to it faster.
Since your dog views the walk as a reward, your dog believes that whatever behavior it engages in makes the walk happen. This is called "transitive logic".
If your dog is pawing and barking at you, and you go get the leash-- what made you go get the leash? When your dog leaps and thrashes while you attempt to attach the leash, what behavior made you finally get the leash attached? Jumping & thrashing, of course! And when you walk to the door with your riot on a string, what makes the door open? Its obvious to any dog. The rioting did.
Now, your dog knows your personal sequence of events. Every step in that sequence is a reward. Any, god forbid, reversal in the sequence is a punisher. Hesitation or slowness is a mild punisher that can serve as a useful elicitor.
Remember back to where we observed that walking was worth ANY hassle? Make the hassle being calm -- or at least controlled!
Walks should start as your idea, not the dog's. Ignoring any previously rewarded behavior (like the pawing, barking, whining, pacing stuff) will cause the behavior to worsen. The dog thinks, "I know this works -- I just have to do it harder, louder, faster, over here, over there, in combination with something else..." The dog has to exhaust every possible variation of the thing that he KNOWS works until he realizes, "Hey, amybe this doesn't work anymore..."
Try choosing a command you want to use to earn the walk. It can always be the same one. It can be a different one every time. Don't forget a release word!
OR
Perform your regular sequence at about 1/2 speed.
In either case, by continuing with your sequence when you are seeing things you like, and reversing your sequence when you see things you don't like, you can communicate quickly to the dog what works and what doesn't with regard to getting to go for a walk.
To make things even clearer, you can use the word "good" repeatedly to mark every single correct behavior. At least one every 2 seconds! Use a single marker like "oops", "eh-eh", or even clear your throat at the second you see something you don't like AND simultaneously demonstrate that it doesn't work by reversing your sequence.
Using the markers alone may distract the first few times, but if they doesn't predict anything meaningful (i.e., we are moving toward or away from walking), they will soon be disregarded. Show, don't tell!
Showing works so well that you can do it in absolute silence (no markers), and the dog will still catch on! This silent interaction is what was historically meant by "dog whispering".
"What if he has to go the bathroom?"
For many of us who work typical 9-5 jobs, the evening meet-up has an added level of reward intensity. The urgency of needing to go to the bathroom can really make things difficult. It makes the reward of the walk of even HIGHER value! So whatever the dog is doing just prior to this walk is REALLY working. At least, according to the dogs.
How do we combat this? Well, I suppose a hard-core dog trainer would insist that you just make the dog behave before giving it access to this reward. Lucky for you, and all my own spoiled dogs, I am far from hard-core!
For this circumstance, if you believe it IS urgent, I'd suggest taking the dog directly (no sniffing or meandering--hustle!) to a designated potty spot as close to the house as possible. Then, return to the house with the same hustle. Make it your idea to go on for a real walk when it is convenient for you. OR, if you prefer to do it right away after the potty, you could ask for a command response near the potty spot and go. You could simply expect (wait for) calm behavior and go. You could still hustle back to the house and go.
However, you know your dog's routine -- does she step out the door and then not potty for 20 minutes? If this sounds more like your dog, I'd be a little more skeptical about interpreting the "urgency" of the behavior when you arrive at home!
The idea of instituting a deliberate walk routine is often problematic for dog owners. So let me simply remind you -- if you do what you've always done, you'll get the results you've always gotten! The cognitive demands of giving 100% attention and interaction with your dog after a long, hard day place on you, the owner, often serve to dissuade (punish?) us from doing what will ultimately enable us to think less and walk more conveniently. However, as someone who doesn't have chaos for walks, let me tell you -- it's totally worth it. Once your new routine becomes "what you've always done", those results will be what you always get!
What many dog owners don't realize is... Need = REWARD.
For many dogs, the reward of a walk is so alluring, so powerful, that even the most scrumptious edibles pale by comparison. Even the discomfort of leaning on a flat collar or twisting your face on a headcollar or pinches from a pinch collar often fail to distract you from the surge of elation you feel when anticipating a walk! The reward is totally worth any hassle to try to get to it faster.
Since your dog views the walk as a reward, your dog believes that whatever behavior it engages in makes the walk happen. This is called "transitive logic".
If your dog is pawing and barking at you, and you go get the leash-- what made you go get the leash? When your dog leaps and thrashes while you attempt to attach the leash, what behavior made you finally get the leash attached? Jumping & thrashing, of course! And when you walk to the door with your riot on a string, what makes the door open? Its obvious to any dog. The rioting did.
Now, your dog knows your personal sequence of events. Every step in that sequence is a reward. Any, god forbid, reversal in the sequence is a punisher. Hesitation or slowness is a mild punisher that can serve as a useful elicitor.
Remember back to where we observed that walking was worth ANY hassle? Make the hassle being calm -- or at least controlled!
Walks should start as your idea, not the dog's. Ignoring any previously rewarded behavior (like the pawing, barking, whining, pacing stuff) will cause the behavior to worsen. The dog thinks, "I know this works -- I just have to do it harder, louder, faster, over here, over there, in combination with something else..." The dog has to exhaust every possible variation of the thing that he KNOWS works until he realizes, "Hey, amybe this doesn't work anymore..."
Try choosing a command you want to use to earn the walk. It can always be the same one. It can be a different one every time. Don't forget a release word!
OR
Perform your regular sequence at about 1/2 speed.
In either case, by continuing with your sequence when you are seeing things you like, and reversing your sequence when you see things you don't like, you can communicate quickly to the dog what works and what doesn't with regard to getting to go for a walk.
To make things even clearer, you can use the word "good" repeatedly to mark every single correct behavior. At least one every 2 seconds! Use a single marker like "oops", "eh-eh", or even clear your throat at the second you see something you don't like AND simultaneously demonstrate that it doesn't work by reversing your sequence.
Using the markers alone may distract the first few times, but if they doesn't predict anything meaningful (i.e., we are moving toward or away from walking), they will soon be disregarded. Show, don't tell!
Showing works so well that you can do it in absolute silence (no markers), and the dog will still catch on! This silent interaction is what was historically meant by "dog whispering".
"What if he has to go the bathroom?"
For many of us who work typical 9-5 jobs, the evening meet-up has an added level of reward intensity. The urgency of needing to go to the bathroom can really make things difficult. It makes the reward of the walk of even HIGHER value! So whatever the dog is doing just prior to this walk is REALLY working. At least, according to the dogs.
How do we combat this? Well, I suppose a hard-core dog trainer would insist that you just make the dog behave before giving it access to this reward. Lucky for you, and all my own spoiled dogs, I am far from hard-core!
For this circumstance, if you believe it IS urgent, I'd suggest taking the dog directly (no sniffing or meandering--hustle!) to a designated potty spot as close to the house as possible. Then, return to the house with the same hustle. Make it your idea to go on for a real walk when it is convenient for you. OR, if you prefer to do it right away after the potty, you could ask for a command response near the potty spot and go. You could simply expect (wait for) calm behavior and go. You could still hustle back to the house and go.
However, you know your dog's routine -- does she step out the door and then not potty for 20 minutes? If this sounds more like your dog, I'd be a little more skeptical about interpreting the "urgency" of the behavior when you arrive at home!
The idea of instituting a deliberate walk routine is often problematic for dog owners. So let me simply remind you -- if you do what you've always done, you'll get the results you've always gotten! The cognitive demands of giving 100% attention and interaction with your dog after a long, hard day place on you, the owner, often serve to dissuade (punish?) us from doing what will ultimately enable us to think less and walk more conveniently. However, as someone who doesn't have chaos for walks, let me tell you -- it's totally worth it. Once your new routine becomes "what you've always done", those results will be what you always get!
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Buy Us a Round of Entropion Surgery?
"Jamais deux sans trois" (Never 2 without 3), they say in French. Bad things do seem to come in threes. In the case of MidAtlanticBullyBuddies(MABB)dogs, it happens to be 3 eyes with entropion.
Two eyes belong to Lilly, a charming young adolescent dog, possibly a Boxer mix, for whom MABB set up a ChipIn widget.
Then the third eye with entropion arrived. It belongs to a sweet baby girl who also has kennel cough and an as-yet unidentified skin condition causing her to lose hair (NOT demodectic mange). Her pink paws and skin look so painful, but she doesn't quit being sweet! She is receiving treatments from the vet to make her more comfortable. No widget has been set up for her vet bills yet, but it will be shortly.
Man, after a run of dogs not needing much of anything except to find a good home, MABB is seeing a run of dogs with medical issues. I guess it couldn't last forever. =(
Two eyes belong to Lilly, a charming young adolescent dog, possibly a Boxer mix, for whom MABB set up a ChipIn widget.
Then the third eye with entropion arrived. It belongs to a sweet baby girl who also has kennel cough and an as-yet unidentified skin condition causing her to lose hair (NOT demodectic mange). Her pink paws and skin look so painful, but she doesn't quit being sweet! She is receiving treatments from the vet to make her more comfortable. No widget has been set up for her vet bills yet, but it will be shortly.
Man, after a run of dogs not needing much of anything except to find a good home, MABB is seeing a run of dogs with medical issues. I guess it couldn't last forever. =(
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
"What Else Can I Do?"
No matter what behavior you are dealing with, sufficient walks are often THE critical component missing from your dog's life, and contributing significantly to your dog's inability to handle what should be non-events.
Add extra walks. Not treadmills, not backpacks, not running beside bikes or rollerblades, not heeling, not training walks -- just good old walking, meandering, sniffing, being a dog.
Dogs who jog or sprint given this opportunity are dogs who have been living under a pattern of insufficient walks.
As a component of a "rehab" or "detox" program for reactive or otherwise misbehaving dogs, are responsible for at least 60-80% of the results. You could conceivably lapse on EVERY OTHER ELEMENT and still see significant results from adding sufficient walks.
It might take you a few weeks to "catch up" on all the walks you've missed on a daily basis so far, but providing THE basic element of canine cognitive experience will make the biggest impact on your dog's behavior.
But, still... The owners ask, "What else can I do?"
It's as if they are asking, "Well, other than driving between the lines of the right-hand side of the road, what can I do to improve my safety behind the wheel? Realistically, I'm just not going to stay on the right hand side of the road."
Uh,... then, realistically? You shouldn't be driving.
Some dogs CAN do with less exercise. Certainly elderly dogs and physically challenged dogs cannot tolerate the exercise a 14-month-old Border Collie can. But if you are not providing enough exercise to keep your dog from displaying behaviors like barking, biting, digging, self-mutilation, chewing, and other unhealthy AND undesirable behaviors -- what kind of a home are you providing?
Actions speak louder than words. Dogs know: Walks = love.
Add extra walks. Not treadmills, not backpacks, not running beside bikes or rollerblades, not heeling, not training walks -- just good old walking, meandering, sniffing, being a dog.
Dogs who jog or sprint given this opportunity are dogs who have been living under a pattern of insufficient walks.
As a component of a "rehab" or "detox" program for reactive or otherwise misbehaving dogs, are responsible for at least 60-80% of the results. You could conceivably lapse on EVERY OTHER ELEMENT and still see significant results from adding sufficient walks.
It might take you a few weeks to "catch up" on all the walks you've missed on a daily basis so far, but providing THE basic element of canine cognitive experience will make the biggest impact on your dog's behavior.
But, still... The owners ask, "What else can I do?"
It's as if they are asking, "Well, other than driving between the lines of the right-hand side of the road, what can I do to improve my safety behind the wheel? Realistically, I'm just not going to stay on the right hand side of the road."
Uh,... then, realistically? You shouldn't be driving.
Some dogs CAN do with less exercise. Certainly elderly dogs and physically challenged dogs cannot tolerate the exercise a 14-month-old Border Collie can. But if you are not providing enough exercise to keep your dog from displaying behaviors like barking, biting, digging, self-mutilation, chewing, and other unhealthy AND undesirable behaviors -- what kind of a home are you providing?
Actions speak louder than words. Dogs know: Walks = love.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Happy Ending for Pit Bull Stabbing Victim!
We did it! Ceasar (now called "Rocky") has recovered from his injuries, and is now living with his new person, Emily, who calls him "the coolest dog ever". I think that's just because he is.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Good Training is...Good Training
"This is Nicole, what can I do for you?"
"Well, I was just wondering what kind of method you use?"
There ARE no methods! Dogs recognize no "methods". There are two kinds of training: Good training, and bad training.
There is good training: The dog understands, and demonstrates understanding with reliable performance of correctly chosen criteria. The handler can consistently perform the requisite elements. The success of such training enhances dog-handler relationship. Ultimately, good training results in increased desired behaviors and decreased undesired behavior.
There are many, many ways to get this to happen. Every effective way relies on precise timing, effective communication, consistency of message, showing--not telling, presentation of contrast, and intellectual engagement from both dog and handler. These create predictable expectations, predictable and controllable consequences. Predictability is the antithesis of anxiety.
There is bad training. The dog does not understand. The handler does not understand it. The trainer teaching it does not understand it. No one knows what is going on, but something is happening. 'We have to do something, and this is something, so we are doing this.'
There's a shot gun approach of 'we're trying this', 'Oh, we've stopped that, now trying another thing', often due to the human's inappropriate expectations or incorrect diagnosis. There is a wide variety of ideas conveyed for a short period of time, and then a new idea, replacing the old idea, (often in stark contrast to the old notion) appears out of nowhere.
Confusion, inconsistency, poor timing, emotional intensity, lack of clarity result in a lack of predictability. If you wanted to create a monster, (or if you wanted to make a dog just stop trying--see Martin Seligman's research)removing predictability, removing controllable consequences, and generally increasing frustration, arousal, and anxiety is a good way to accomplish that.
Some dogs are frankly not negatively psychologically impacted by pain alone. These are the rough-players of the dog world, who make great police dogs, Schutzhund & Ringsport players, unstoppable trackers, and tolerant therapy and service dogs. Pain does not necessarily equate to stress for all dogs.
However, even for dogs who DO have a high tolerance for pain, anxiety, confusion, frustration DO negatively impact the dog's psychological state, and therefore performance and compliance. Maintaining appropriate emotional state is a critical component of effective training. Stress-tolerance can be taught, but never demanded.
Stress is the hallmark of abusive, aversive interactions.
Stress, anxiety, confusion, and frustration are NOT unique to methods using pain. You can easily stress, confuse, and frustrate your dog using treats or play alone! Selection of tools ALONE does not determine whether your dog is receiving "good" or "bad" training.
I have watched Schutzhund dogs have a wonderful time, happy tails, and excited to work, and frustrated when prevented from working! These are dogs on precisely used slip, choke, prong, and remote collars. Their handlers are emotionally neutral, and there is no yelling.
I have seen Schutzhund dogs mistreated, abused, confused, and FAIL, as they AND their cretin owners misunderstand the exercise, the tool they are "now" trying, and resultantly the two creatures generally yell, scream, and otherwise act a fool!
I have watched dogs in reward-only classes shut down in confusion as treats are waggled but not delivered. Watched their insistent owners ratchet up the pressure, reaching for higher and higher value treats, trying for "another way to get him to do it". As if they can force the dog into wanting! Good trainers wait until the time is right to work. They can identify the body language that indicates a good time to work.
I've watched frustration build in a dog leaning into a flat collar while the owner inclines away from the dog, who is only interested in sniffing a new dog, sparking aggressive outbursts. Using only a flat collar, that generally accepted as among the most benign of tools, mixed with a little ignorance, misunderstanding, or inattentiveness, --we've created aggression!
The issue I take with the labeling of training as "positive" or "traditional" or "dog whispering" or "natural" or any other label used for marketing purposes is that I have yet to find any relationship between the label and whether or not the training is good, fair, and enjoyable, --or bad, unfair, and stress-inducing.
When you are making decisions about how to interact with your dog, remember that it isn't the label that matters to your dog. It's reducing anxiety. It's making you happy. It's having a good time. Dogs are, above all, supposed to be fun!
Go have some fun with your dog.
"Well, I was just wondering what kind of method you use?"
There ARE no methods! Dogs recognize no "methods". There are two kinds of training: Good training, and bad training.
There is good training: The dog understands, and demonstrates understanding with reliable performance of correctly chosen criteria. The handler can consistently perform the requisite elements. The success of such training enhances dog-handler relationship. Ultimately, good training results in increased desired behaviors and decreased undesired behavior.
There are many, many ways to get this to happen. Every effective way relies on precise timing, effective communication, consistency of message, showing--not telling, presentation of contrast, and intellectual engagement from both dog and handler. These create predictable expectations, predictable and controllable consequences. Predictability is the antithesis of anxiety.
There is bad training. The dog does not understand. The handler does not understand it. The trainer teaching it does not understand it. No one knows what is going on, but something is happening. 'We have to do something, and this is something, so we are doing this.'
There's a shot gun approach of 'we're trying this', 'Oh, we've stopped that, now trying another thing', often due to the human's inappropriate expectations or incorrect diagnosis. There is a wide variety of ideas conveyed for a short period of time, and then a new idea, replacing the old idea, (often in stark contrast to the old notion) appears out of nowhere.
Confusion, inconsistency, poor timing, emotional intensity, lack of clarity result in a lack of predictability. If you wanted to create a monster, (or if you wanted to make a dog just stop trying--see Martin Seligman's research)removing predictability, removing controllable consequences, and generally increasing frustration, arousal, and anxiety is a good way to accomplish that.
Some dogs are frankly not negatively psychologically impacted by pain alone. These are the rough-players of the dog world, who make great police dogs, Schutzhund & Ringsport players, unstoppable trackers, and tolerant therapy and service dogs. Pain does not necessarily equate to stress for all dogs.
However, even for dogs who DO have a high tolerance for pain, anxiety, confusion, frustration DO negatively impact the dog's psychological state, and therefore performance and compliance. Maintaining appropriate emotional state is a critical component of effective training. Stress-tolerance can be taught, but never demanded.
Stress is the hallmark of abusive, aversive interactions.
Stress, anxiety, confusion, and frustration are NOT unique to methods using pain. You can easily stress, confuse, and frustrate your dog using treats or play alone! Selection of tools ALONE does not determine whether your dog is receiving "good" or "bad" training.
I have watched Schutzhund dogs have a wonderful time, happy tails, and excited to work, and frustrated when prevented from working! These are dogs on precisely used slip, choke, prong, and remote collars. Their handlers are emotionally neutral, and there is no yelling.
I have seen Schutzhund dogs mistreated, abused, confused, and FAIL, as they AND their cretin owners misunderstand the exercise, the tool they are "now" trying, and resultantly the two creatures generally yell, scream, and otherwise act a fool!
I have watched dogs in reward-only classes shut down in confusion as treats are waggled but not delivered. Watched their insistent owners ratchet up the pressure, reaching for higher and higher value treats, trying for "another way to get him to do it". As if they can force the dog into wanting! Good trainers wait until the time is right to work. They can identify the body language that indicates a good time to work.
I've watched frustration build in a dog leaning into a flat collar while the owner inclines away from the dog, who is only interested in sniffing a new dog, sparking aggressive outbursts. Using only a flat collar, that generally accepted as among the most benign of tools, mixed with a little ignorance, misunderstanding, or inattentiveness, --we've created aggression!
The issue I take with the labeling of training as "positive" or "traditional" or "dog whispering" or "natural" or any other label used for marketing purposes is that I have yet to find any relationship between the label and whether or not the training is good, fair, and enjoyable, --or bad, unfair, and stress-inducing.
When you are making decisions about how to interact with your dog, remember that it isn't the label that matters to your dog. It's reducing anxiety. It's making you happy. It's having a good time. Dogs are, above all, supposed to be fun!
Go have some fun with your dog.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Retrieves!
Retrieves are a great joy for both the dog and handler. Their complication encourages teamwork, while the independent function of the dog can foster relaxation.
Retrieves consist of
1)Picking up the Object
2)Dropping the Object in the indicated spot
Everything else is problem-solving for the dog!
Picking up the Object
To begin teaching a dog who doesn't naturally retrieve, start with an object the dog WANTS to pick up and hold.
Although my other dogs were highly toy-motivated, and picked up on the retrieving game right away, my Labrador RETRIEVER mix, Lila, who has clearly not read her veterinary paperwork indicating her genetics, did not.
Lila's retrieving started with what I called, "The Chicken Bag". It's just as gross as it sounds, but she loved it. I used a standard Outward Hound treat bag, and filled it with lightly drained canned chicken. The liquid leaked out of the bag -- revolting for me, enchanting for her. I had no trouble with her wanting to put her mouth on it!
The Chicken Bag was placed on the ground a few feet away. After a SIT, she was released and told to BRING, as I stepped toward the object, using my hand to lure her nose near it.
She began by licking it, then pawing at it, then FINALLY, putting her mouth on it. I waited silently through the initial behaviors, and nearly shouted "YES!" when her teeth made contact. As long as her teeth were in contact, I encouraged her with Lila's special blend of tertiary reinforcers: "That's it, good, good, yes, excellent..." (I don't know why Lila likes the blend more. All the other dogs generally just prefer the simplicity of "Good".)
Dropping the Object in the indicated spot
Many people begin retrieves with some great distance thrown into the mix. The distance is not really an essential component of the behavior!
A beginning retrieve can consist of the dog lifting the Object off the floor, and "accidentally" dropping it into your hand, which you have sneakily chosen to place directly under the dog's chin. Voila! You & your dog have completed an entire retrieve.
For Lila, once The Chicken Bag, well, slopped(mmmm....) into my hand, I cringed, opened the drawstring, and pulled out some of the delicious, runny, chicken-y goodness. If it didn't fall into my hand, I used an NRM, and didn't (phew!) open the bag to give any chicken.
Once you have the dog picking the object up and dropping it into your hand (or a basket, or a hoop, or any other indicated spot), you can simply add more challenge (escalate criteria).
You can start by making either component more difficult, but if you are not working with a natural retriever, I don't recommend doing both components at once. Start by making it harder to pick up the Object (object placed at greater distance from dog or thrown to greater distance) or by making it harder to put it in the right spot (moving your hand left or right or farther from the dog).
Once your dog catches on to the game, you can use a new, previously less desirable object. Very likely, you will have to begin again with Object on ground, waiting for dog to pick it up, catching the Object, and then gradually escalating through the same progression.
Want your dog to pick her toys? Say CLEAN UP. Use a unique, moving body language signal. Now use BRING. Hold your hand over the toy box as the dog brings the toy to your hand. "Miss" catching the toy and let it fall into the box. YES! Toy is in box. No problem. Gradually make it harder for the dog to find the toys AND toy box (move it left or right or farther away), and eliminate the BRING command. In no time, your dog will be able to pick up her toys on command.
What kind of ideas for retrieving tricks do you have?
Retrieves consist of
1)Picking up the Object
2)Dropping the Object in the indicated spot
Everything else is problem-solving for the dog!
Picking up the Object
To begin teaching a dog who doesn't naturally retrieve, start with an object the dog WANTS to pick up and hold.
Although my other dogs were highly toy-motivated, and picked up on the retrieving game right away, my Labrador RETRIEVER mix, Lila, who has clearly not read her veterinary paperwork indicating her genetics, did not.
Lila's retrieving started with what I called, "The Chicken Bag". It's just as gross as it sounds, but she loved it. I used a standard Outward Hound treat bag, and filled it with lightly drained canned chicken. The liquid leaked out of the bag -- revolting for me, enchanting for her. I had no trouble with her wanting to put her mouth on it!
The Chicken Bag was placed on the ground a few feet away. After a SIT, she was released and told to BRING, as I stepped toward the object, using my hand to lure her nose near it.
She began by licking it, then pawing at it, then FINALLY, putting her mouth on it. I waited silently through the initial behaviors, and nearly shouted "YES!" when her teeth made contact. As long as her teeth were in contact, I encouraged her with Lila's special blend of tertiary reinforcers: "That's it, good, good, yes, excellent..." (I don't know why Lila likes the blend more. All the other dogs generally just prefer the simplicity of "Good".)
Dropping the Object in the indicated spot
Many people begin retrieves with some great distance thrown into the mix. The distance is not really an essential component of the behavior!
A beginning retrieve can consist of the dog lifting the Object off the floor, and "accidentally" dropping it into your hand, which you have sneakily chosen to place directly under the dog's chin. Voila! You & your dog have completed an entire retrieve.
For Lila, once The Chicken Bag, well, slopped(mmmm....) into my hand, I cringed, opened the drawstring, and pulled out some of the delicious, runny, chicken-y goodness. If it didn't fall into my hand, I used an NRM, and didn't (phew!) open the bag to give any chicken.
Once you have the dog picking the object up and dropping it into your hand (or a basket, or a hoop, or any other indicated spot), you can simply add more challenge (escalate criteria).
You can start by making either component more difficult, but if you are not working with a natural retriever, I don't recommend doing both components at once. Start by making it harder to pick up the Object (object placed at greater distance from dog or thrown to greater distance) or by making it harder to put it in the right spot (moving your hand left or right or farther from the dog).
Once your dog catches on to the game, you can use a new, previously less desirable object. Very likely, you will have to begin again with Object on ground, waiting for dog to pick it up, catching the Object, and then gradually escalating through the same progression.
Want your dog to pick her toys? Say CLEAN UP. Use a unique, moving body language signal. Now use BRING. Hold your hand over the toy box as the dog brings the toy to your hand. "Miss" catching the toy and let it fall into the box. YES! Toy is in box. No problem. Gradually make it harder for the dog to find the toys AND toy box (move it left or right or farther away), and eliminate the BRING command. In no time, your dog will be able to pick up her toys on command.
What kind of ideas for retrieving tricks do you have?
Freedom in The House
The most common mistake I see owners making with regard to freedom in the house is trusting too much too soon.
There are two "flavors" of this mistake.
One variation is to base trust on puppy behaviors.
Few people start out making the mistake of leaving the puppy loose in the house all the time. They realize this is potentially disaster, and use an error-proof zone to contain their puppy when they cannot directly supervise.
When this more common mistake happens, the puppy is generally about 4-6 months old, just prior to the onset of adolescent behaviors. The puppy has been a very good puppy when they have allowed it supervised freedom. They have supervised it extensively, rarely needed to distract it from mistakes, and have decided that NOW is a good time to introduce freedom. "After all," the owner thinks, "It's been two (or four) whole months with no (or only a few minor) mistakes."
And that is true. The dog has been good. But what the owner doesn't realize is that adolescence is the timeframe when most more major mistakes occur. The adolescent brain is developing the focus to keep at something that the puppy brain would lose interest in more rapidly! Adolescents also are developing increased confidence and curiosity. They are now much more willing to investigate items in which they previously had no interest.
This is a very risky point at which to begin leaving the dog unattended. It's not impossible -- just requires slower progression from leaving 2 minutes, then 3, etc.
The second variation applies to almost everyone, whether starting with a puppy, adolescent, adult, or even senior dog.
Leaving the dog loose and unsupervised for too long!
Most dogs do the majority of any damage during the first 15 minutes of separation. This means that owners need to very gradually work up to 15 minutes of separation. Most owners try "only 20 minutes" or "only an hour" for their first (disastrous) trial.
How do we gradually work up to these time frames? Trial separation.
No, you don't need a lawyer. This means leaving the dog for short periods of time when you don't actually HAVE to leave. It's pretend leaving.
All success starts with the dog actively engaged in something. This can be chewing something appropriate, or eating some kibble sprinkled on the floor or from a bowl. If you are providing sufficient exercise, midday generally consists of laying around calmly, which is its own kind of activity.
I've had a lot of success with not mentioning anything about my leaving to my dogs. I just sort of drift away while they are engrossed. However, not everyone has this luxury. If you have a "troupe" of partner, offspring, other pets you may be leaving with -- well, they have to participate in the trial separations! If you can't avoid signaling separation to your dogs, ask them to WAIT. (WAIT is a version of stay that does not have a release command.)
Choose a good moment to begin leaving. Immediately after a tiring exercise, play, or training session is good. Midday is generally R&R on dog time. Sunrise and sunset are times when dogs would naturally engage in hunting behaviors, so the dog can be more stimulated at those times. Leave those times for later teaching.
Leave for a miniscule amount of time. If the dog begins to approach the door and whine or scratch at it immediately, don't leave! You need a better activity, a tired-er dog. Though your overall goal is to increase the time duration the dog is left unattended, you may not want the dog to not know exactly how long to expect. Once you increase the time, always do a few of shorter length times to keep your dog guessing.
However, there are dogs who enjoy and thrive on exact predictability. If you suspect this is your dog (often the more shy, not bold dogs)--use a very gentle progression of slightly and slightly longer each time. This is the exception dog, though, not the general rule.
Return calmly. Ignore the dog entirely until it is calm or ignoring you. You will be excited that the dog hasn't destroyed anything, and you'll want to reward it. Unfortunately, this moment is now too late for the dog to associate your reward with its good separation behavior. You will be creating an anticipation of reward when you walk in the door, which leads to excitement. Excitement makes your departure and arrival an event, when what you want is for it to be a non-event. Totally routine, boring, and hardly of note.
What are YOUR best activities to engage a dog when leaving?
There are two "flavors" of this mistake.
One variation is to base trust on puppy behaviors.
Few people start out making the mistake of leaving the puppy loose in the house all the time. They realize this is potentially disaster, and use an error-proof zone to contain their puppy when they cannot directly supervise.
When this more common mistake happens, the puppy is generally about 4-6 months old, just prior to the onset of adolescent behaviors. The puppy has been a very good puppy when they have allowed it supervised freedom. They have supervised it extensively, rarely needed to distract it from mistakes, and have decided that NOW is a good time to introduce freedom. "After all," the owner thinks, "It's been two (or four) whole months with no (or only a few minor) mistakes."
And that is true. The dog has been good. But what the owner doesn't realize is that adolescence is the timeframe when most more major mistakes occur. The adolescent brain is developing the focus to keep at something that the puppy brain would lose interest in more rapidly! Adolescents also are developing increased confidence and curiosity. They are now much more willing to investigate items in which they previously had no interest.
This is a very risky point at which to begin leaving the dog unattended. It's not impossible -- just requires slower progression from leaving 2 minutes, then 3, etc.
The second variation applies to almost everyone, whether starting with a puppy, adolescent, adult, or even senior dog.
Leaving the dog loose and unsupervised for too long!
Most dogs do the majority of any damage during the first 15 minutes of separation. This means that owners need to very gradually work up to 15 minutes of separation. Most owners try "only 20 minutes" or "only an hour" for their first (disastrous) trial.
How do we gradually work up to these time frames? Trial separation.
No, you don't need a lawyer. This means leaving the dog for short periods of time when you don't actually HAVE to leave. It's pretend leaving.
All success starts with the dog actively engaged in something. This can be chewing something appropriate, or eating some kibble sprinkled on the floor or from a bowl. If you are providing sufficient exercise, midday generally consists of laying around calmly, which is its own kind of activity.
I've had a lot of success with not mentioning anything about my leaving to my dogs. I just sort of drift away while they are engrossed. However, not everyone has this luxury. If you have a "troupe" of partner, offspring, other pets you may be leaving with -- well, they have to participate in the trial separations! If you can't avoid signaling separation to your dogs, ask them to WAIT. (WAIT is a version of stay that does not have a release command.)
Choose a good moment to begin leaving. Immediately after a tiring exercise, play, or training session is good. Midday is generally R&R on dog time. Sunrise and sunset are times when dogs would naturally engage in hunting behaviors, so the dog can be more stimulated at those times. Leave those times for later teaching.
Leave for a miniscule amount of time. If the dog begins to approach the door and whine or scratch at it immediately, don't leave! You need a better activity, a tired-er dog. Though your overall goal is to increase the time duration the dog is left unattended, you may not want the dog to not know exactly how long to expect. Once you increase the time, always do a few of shorter length times to keep your dog guessing.
However, there are dogs who enjoy and thrive on exact predictability. If you suspect this is your dog (often the more shy, not bold dogs)--use a very gentle progression of slightly and slightly longer each time. This is the exception dog, though, not the general rule.
Return calmly. Ignore the dog entirely until it is calm or ignoring you. You will be excited that the dog hasn't destroyed anything, and you'll want to reward it. Unfortunately, this moment is now too late for the dog to associate your reward with its good separation behavior. You will be creating an anticipation of reward when you walk in the door, which leads to excitement. Excitement makes your departure and arrival an event, when what you want is for it to be a non-event. Totally routine, boring, and hardly of note.
What are YOUR best activities to engage a dog when leaving?
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Tapering Off Food Rewards
The advice often given by positive trainers to avoid the undesired effect mentioned in my last post ("How to Stop GOOD Behavior") is to taper off reinforcement (rewards).
The advice is that, gradually, you give less and less food. On some repetitions, even though the dog did the right thing, and you want to pay it with food, you just don't. You cheer, you celebrate, you pet, you massage, you allow access to other rewards, but you don't feed.
This is a hard thing for most pet owners to do. Their dog has done something, and they want to pay it. Which is a fantastic breakthrough from the old-school training days of NEVER feeding! Nothing wrong with that inclination.
And, it bears stating: If you can be committed to continuing your reward schedule of 100% -- go for it!! There is absolutely no reason for you to stop. There are too many people who are ashamed of using food to encourage their dog's behavior. Trust me, the general public doesn't give a rat's behind WHY your dog behaves--only that he DOES!
One way to continue to increase good behavior while decreasing food is to escalate criteria. This can be difficult for most owners to recognize at first. They are so excited that the dog complies at all that they can't imagine more!
Escalating criteria automatically tapers off the rewards, because your dog will not meet the new criteria 100% of the time.
What does "escalating criteria" mean?
"Criteria" means the precise behavior (usually multiple behaviors for beginng dogs) that earns the reward. The criteria can be thought of as the dog's "definition" of the behavior.
"Escalating criteria" is redefining the behavior, making it harder for the dog. It means you expect a teensy bit more than what you used to expect. You are making a new and more specific "right answer".
For example, you reward faster reponses -- ones within 2 seconds instead of 5. Stays are now with distraction. Or more tempting distraction. Or you only reward the down position if both rear feet are on the floor (Sphynx position), not if the hips roll over to the side. You reward ONLY recalls where the dog sprints as a response to your call, instead of any response at all.
Choosing correctly escalated criteria is what "separates the the men from the boys". Make it too hard, and the frustration is punishing. Make it too easy, and the boredom is punishing. Just to make it even more complicated--there is no one "recipe" of the right criteria for every dog!
However, choosing criteria that the dog gets right about 75% of the time is a good place to start. This is, however, just a suggested rule of thumb! No magic. If you and your dog have the patience and drive to attempt something the dog only gets right 10% of the time, it doesn't mean it's wrong. However, choosing criteria that keep a high success rate (high rate of reward) will keep your and your dog's interest and enthusiasm high.
Once you have chosen your new criteria, you STOP food-rewarding anything that does not meet that new, exact definition. It is important to note that this failure to provide an anticipated reward could be called "negative punishment" by your dog. This negative punishment is what conveys the idea that the lesser responses no longer consitute the "Right Answer".
Should you ignore the NOW undesired, but still very good answers? NO! Acknowledge that those formerly right answers are STILL right-ish. Provide encouragement and appreciation-- pet, praise, get excited. Use your dog's lower-value rewards.
The advice is that, gradually, you give less and less food. On some repetitions, even though the dog did the right thing, and you want to pay it with food, you just don't. You cheer, you celebrate, you pet, you massage, you allow access to other rewards, but you don't feed.
This is a hard thing for most pet owners to do. Their dog has done something, and they want to pay it. Which is a fantastic breakthrough from the old-school training days of NEVER feeding! Nothing wrong with that inclination.
And, it bears stating: If you can be committed to continuing your reward schedule of 100% -- go for it!! There is absolutely no reason for you to stop. There are too many people who are ashamed of using food to encourage their dog's behavior. Trust me, the general public doesn't give a rat's behind WHY your dog behaves--only that he DOES!
One way to continue to increase good behavior while decreasing food is to escalate criteria. This can be difficult for most owners to recognize at first. They are so excited that the dog complies at all that they can't imagine more!
Escalating criteria automatically tapers off the rewards, because your dog will not meet the new criteria 100% of the time.
What does "escalating criteria" mean?
"Criteria" means the precise behavior (usually multiple behaviors for beginng dogs) that earns the reward. The criteria can be thought of as the dog's "definition" of the behavior.
"Escalating criteria" is redefining the behavior, making it harder for the dog. It means you expect a teensy bit more than what you used to expect. You are making a new and more specific "right answer".
For example, you reward faster reponses -- ones within 2 seconds instead of 5. Stays are now with distraction. Or more tempting distraction. Or you only reward the down position if both rear feet are on the floor (Sphynx position), not if the hips roll over to the side. You reward ONLY recalls where the dog sprints as a response to your call, instead of any response at all.
Choosing correctly escalated criteria is what "separates the the men from the boys". Make it too hard, and the frustration is punishing. Make it too easy, and the boredom is punishing. Just to make it even more complicated--there is no one "recipe" of the right criteria for every dog!
However, choosing criteria that the dog gets right about 75% of the time is a good place to start. This is, however, just a suggested rule of thumb! No magic. If you and your dog have the patience and drive to attempt something the dog only gets right 10% of the time, it doesn't mean it's wrong. However, choosing criteria that keep a high success rate (high rate of reward) will keep your and your dog's interest and enthusiasm high.
Once you have chosen your new criteria, you STOP food-rewarding anything that does not meet that new, exact definition. It is important to note that this failure to provide an anticipated reward could be called "negative punishment" by your dog. This negative punishment is what conveys the idea that the lesser responses no longer consitute the "Right Answer".
Should you ignore the NOW undesired, but still very good answers? NO! Acknowledge that those formerly right answers are STILL right-ish. Provide encouragement and appreciation-- pet, praise, get excited. Use your dog's lower-value rewards.
How to Stop GOOD Behavior?
I recently read a fantastic explanation of a commonly recommended, but highly counter-intuitive approach to diminishing unwanted behavior at http://aspergersexpert.blogspot.com.
The approach is simple. There are three steps.
STEP 1: When your pupil (dog or child) engages in deliberate, undesirable, self-rewarding behavior -- reward it. Every time. Heavily.
WHAT?!? Reward BAD behavior???
Yes, reward a bad behavior that is BOTH deliberate and self-rewarding (this is where a professional diagnosis is highly recommended).
When this idea is applied to dog brains, you can put the behavior on command by giving a cue for it (such as JUMP or SPEAK).
STEP 2: Repeat. Establish the idea that this behavior will receive a reward 100% of the time, in addition to "just feeling so right."
The amount of time necessary for this approach to work is likely to vary by individual.
STEP 3: STOP all rewards. Cold turkey.
This works, if used on the right behaviors, and if the reward is given 100% of the time.
Dog trainers like to believe that by putting it on cue and never issuing the cue, that your compliant dog will never engage in the behavior. I do not agree with this explanation. The kind of dogs who engage in the behaviors to which this approach is best suited are generally not in a good, willing compliance relationship with their owners.
The explanation given by the author of the Asperger's Expert blog is that the accompanying frustration associated with unmet expectations functions as a punisher. That the behavior no longer feels as SUPER-right as it did when there was the added reward PLUS the initial self-rewarding nature of the behavior.
This is an explanation that makes sense to me.
Now, what's all this about stopping good behavior? One of the very real problems with "positive" training is the real-world application. Owners get gung-ho about the first few weeks of puppy training. Some behaviors are getting 100% rewards -- every sit, every down, every everything. And that is fantastic! Nothing wrong with that.
Then, the real world reality -- something interferes with this 100% schedule. They run out of treats. The dog gets sick. The vet puts the dog on a special diet.
So the dog is slammed from 100% reinforcement schedule to 0% reinforcement schedule. Which, as we see above, is a great way to STOP good behavior.
The approach is simple. There are three steps.
STEP 1: When your pupil (dog or child) engages in deliberate, undesirable, self-rewarding behavior -- reward it. Every time. Heavily.
WHAT?!? Reward BAD behavior???
Yes, reward a bad behavior that is BOTH deliberate and self-rewarding (this is where a professional diagnosis is highly recommended).
When this idea is applied to dog brains, you can put the behavior on command by giving a cue for it (such as JUMP or SPEAK).
STEP 2: Repeat. Establish the idea that this behavior will receive a reward 100% of the time, in addition to "just feeling so right."
The amount of time necessary for this approach to work is likely to vary by individual.
STEP 3: STOP all rewards. Cold turkey.
This works, if used on the right behaviors, and if the reward is given 100% of the time.
Dog trainers like to believe that by putting it on cue and never issuing the cue, that your compliant dog will never engage in the behavior. I do not agree with this explanation. The kind of dogs who engage in the behaviors to which this approach is best suited are generally not in a good, willing compliance relationship with their owners.
The explanation given by the author of the Asperger's Expert blog is that the accompanying frustration associated with unmet expectations functions as a punisher. That the behavior no longer feels as SUPER-right as it did when there was the added reward PLUS the initial self-rewarding nature of the behavior.
This is an explanation that makes sense to me.
Now, what's all this about stopping good behavior? One of the very real problems with "positive" training is the real-world application. Owners get gung-ho about the first few weeks of puppy training. Some behaviors are getting 100% rewards -- every sit, every down, every everything. And that is fantastic! Nothing wrong with that.
Then, the real world reality -- something interferes with this 100% schedule. They run out of treats. The dog gets sick. The vet puts the dog on a special diet.
So the dog is slammed from 100% reinforcement schedule to 0% reinforcement schedule. Which, as we see above, is a great way to STOP good behavior.
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