My message would be simple: training is not a luxury, but a key component to good animal care. Everyone who has a pet should understand that basic fact. Training is a way to enhance the quality of life for our pets. It is far more than just teaching a dog to do a cute trick. Training is about teaching a dog (or any animal) how to live in our world safely. ~Ken Ramirez, executive vice president of animal care and animal training at the world-renowned Shedd Aquarium
Training Insights
Hand Targeting (The "Touch Game")
The Touch Cue can be used to distract dogs that are nervous or fearful of certain situations.
Teaching your dog to play the ‘touch’ game by extending your hand to your dog, rewarding him for touching it and repeating the exercise until the perceived fear has passed, gives him something positive to focus on rather than the pup, person or situation that makes him nervous.
NOTE: If your dog is anxious, frustrated, or nervous ... Change his focus from fearful to FUN!
Playing games, positive reinforcement, and reassurance are your best training tools. That's why this game is so empowering for both pups and their people!
Teaching your dog to play the ‘touch’ game by extending your hand to your dog, rewarding him for touching it and repeating the exercise until the perceived fear has passed, gives him something positive to focus on rather than the pup, person or situation that makes him nervous.
NOTE: If your dog is anxious, frustrated, or nervous ... Change his focus from fearful to FUN!
Playing games, positive reinforcement, and reassurance are your best training tools. That's why this game is so empowering for both pups and their people!
Ideally, we want the dog to LOOK at the hand he's touching,
or the person with whom he's interacting.
The "TOUCH" Training Technique:
- Dogs are naturally curious animals, so start this technique by presenting your hand to your dog. As he goes to investigate your hand and touches it with his nose, praise and reward him.
- Take your hand away, put it behind your back, wait a second or two, and then present it again.
- Repeat this exercise until your dog is touching your hand whenever you present it.
- When your dog is good at this task, start adding the word 'touch' as he goes to touch your hand with his nose. After many repetitions you will find that he will respond as soon as you ask him to 'touch.'
- Try this exercise with both hands so that he gets used to touching either one.
- When he is reliably touching your hand, use this cue around the home. Call your dog to come to you, and as he gets close, extend your hand and ask him to 'touch.'
- Every touch should be rewarded at this point--some with praise and others with a treat.
- When your dog is responding well indoors, take the exercise outside where there are more distractions.
- Gradually increase the distance between you so that your dog has to travel farther to touch your hand.
Why The Touch Cue is So Helpful!
The ‘Touch’ cue can be used for a number of reasons. Here are some examples:- If you want your dog to touch other things with his nose such as an object or toy.
- It can be taught as part of a retrieval exercise
- If you want your dog to close a door or switch on a light.
- Touch’ can be used to distract dogs that are nervous or fearful of certain situations.
The ‘Touch’ cue can be used for a number of reasons. Here are some examples:- If you want your dog to touch other things with his nose such as an object or toy.
- It can be taught as part of a retrieval exercise
- If you want your dog to close a door or switch on a light.
- Touch’ can be used to distract dogs that are nervous or fearful of certain situations.
TRAINING TRUTH: Dog training should not be a battle of wills, but an ever-evolving dance of communication and cooperation. ~ Nicole Wilde
Reward vs. Force
The strongest relationships between animals and humans are based on cooperation and kindness rather than a human dominance/animal submission methodology.
Positive training helps to establish and maintain a connection that increases trust and therefore creates a stronger bond between animal and human.
For example, if your canine companion feels good about you, he or she will be a happier, more confident, and better-behaved dog.
Positive training results in dogs who follow you because they *want to* rather than following out of fear. Outdated training methods use punitive methods to force a dog to behave, which often results in a quick fix that never truly identifies the root cause of the misbehavior, and promote insecurity and negative behavior.
The strongest relationships between animals and humans are based on cooperation and kindness rather than a human dominance/animal submission methodology.
Positive training helps to establish and maintain a connection that increases trust and therefore creates a stronger bond between animal and human.
For example, if your canine companion feels good about you, he or she will be a happier, more confident, and better-behaved dog.
Positive training results in dogs who follow you because they *want to* rather than following out of fear. Outdated training methods use punitive methods to force a dog to behave, which often results in a quick fix that never truly identifies the root cause of the misbehavior, and promote insecurity and negative behavior.
TRAINING TIP: Ask yourself what behaviors your dog is really fluent at right now. My definition of a dog really "knowing" a behavior is that I can slap $50 on the counter and say "Watch this!" and he'll perform promptly on the first cue.
If you don't have a $50 behavior yet, you need to keep training that behavior until you do.
~ Karen Pryor, pioneer of clicker training and author of "Don’t Shoot the Dog! and "Reaching the Animal Mind"
The Use of Food in Dog Training Q & A
- What is positive reinforcement? Does it just mean that I give my dog treats?
- Why should I use food when training my dog? Surely if I ask my dog to do something he should just do it?
- Why does my dog only listen to me when I have a piece of hot-dog in my hand?
- How do I ensure that I don't have to bribe my dog?
- If my dog will not work for food, then how can a positive reinforcement trainer help me train my dog?
- At what point do I stop using the food to train?
- My dog will do sit and down in my house, but when I take him outside to the park I have to bribe him again. Why does this happen?
- If I train a lot, won't my dog get fat?
Learn the answers to all of these very valid questions here!
TRAINING TRUTH: When you punish an animal for exhibiting a behavior you don’t like, it doesn’t stop the behavior. You've only suppressed the behavior momentarily. We have to teach the animal what we want them to do instead! ~ Conscious Companion
TRAINING TIP: Focus on Behavior That You Desire!
It’s so easy to dwell on the naughty behavior. Then we sit in a pool of frustration, anger, and sometimes even hurt by the actions of our beloved animals. When we focus on the behavior that we desire, we are allowing our animal companions to make better choices! - Joan Ranquet - Communication With All Life
This approach is incredibly effective. By ignoring behaviors you don’t like, and rewarding the behaviors you do like, you can transform rude or inappropriate behavior into polite manners. Teach the animal that the behaviors you prefer to see get attention, and nuisance behaviors achieve nothing. If you are consistent, you'll find that some of these nuisance behaviors will begin to decrease.
There is no need to yell, poke, yank, spray, hit, or scream at them when they are doing something you don't like. Show them what you want them to do instead. Give them better options. Animals are always making choices. Help them to make better ones!
So catch them in the act of doing something good! It may seem counter-intuitive, but it's sure to improve your relationship between you and your animal family members, and make your home a happier place.
When we limit ourselves, or our dogs, we also limit our view of what is possible. ~ Ken Ramirez
Dog training tips and expert advice from world renowned veterinarian, animal behaviorist, writer and dog trainer, Dr. Ian Dunbar!
Training Truth: You may think that it’s no big deal to tell a dog “No!” or “Eh Eh!” to stop a behavior. But doing this only suppresses a behavior. The problem with suppressing behavior is that you create a vacuum. The only behaviors in which your dog can replace the one you didn’t like are more “dog behaviors”, and most likely ones you will not be fond of. Another problem with this is that if the behavior is a side-effect of an underlying problem like stress or over-arousal, punishing the symptom can be unfair as well as cause more behavior problems down the line. If you instead get to the root of the problem and fix it using behavior modification, the unwanted problem behavior - which is a side effect - will disappear on it’s own. ~ Emily Larlham
There isn’t good behavior. There isn’t bad behavior. It’s all just behavior.
