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Tuesday
Aug102010

Behind The Behaviour

All too often many new clients hold the default assumption that their dogs are behaving badly because they are dominant and seeking to attain alpha status.

Contrary to popular belief there is no master plan being hatched by our pet dogs to take over the home.  So let’s take a look at what dominance is, why it is detrimental to apply it to dog behaviour, and what really is behind the behaviour of our canine companions.

Dominance defined: In ethology (the study of animal behaviour), dominance is defined as a relationship between individuals belonging to the same species (conspecifics), that is established in order to prioritise access to scarce resources, for example food, the opposite sex. Such a relationship cannot exist until one animal consistently defers to another.

Modern qualified behaviourists and trainers take issue with applying the dominance model to the dog for many reasons a few being:

Click to read more ...

Saturday
Mar272010

10 Tips To Help Prevent Recall Problems

Many owners encounter problems with dogs that will not come when called while out walking, this is not only frustrating for the owner, but it can also be potentially hazardous. The following training tips can help to prevent recall problems:

#1. From an early age train the recall in a positive way: Find a good puppy class, preferably one where many fun games are practiced off-leash. For example one handler gently restrains Fido while his owner shows him a treat, the owner then runs a little distance away, holds out arms in a welcome gesture and calls Fido in a happy tone of voice. When the handler is confident that Fido is focused on his owner Fido is released and runs over to his owner, and he receives the treat, lots of positive happy verbal feedback, and petting. Keep practicing and as Fido gets good at this game, gradually increase the distance he is required to run.  If you don’t have a helper to hold Fido, then simply run backwards and encourage him to follow you, and reward with treats, praise, and petting.

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Friday
Mar192010

Debunking The Dominance Myth

By Carmen Buitrago, MS, ACAAB, CPDT

 

Are dogs lying awake at night plotting a coup?

Have you ever wondered if your dog is dominant? Chances are you have, if only because over  the last half century, every canine misbehavior from house soiling to door dashing has been  deemed a “dominance” problem. Your dog growls at visitors? Dominance, say well-meaning friends. He doesn’t always come when called? He’s telling you he’s boss, according to popular dog books. She pulls on leash or jumps up to greet you? She’s declaring alpha status. He prefers couches to floors? Watch out!

Perhaps the most unlikely behaviors heard attributed to dominance are coprophagia (stool eating) and fetching a ball.

How did dominance become one of the most popular and unthinking labels ever bandied about in dog circles?

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Friday
Feb262010

Clicker Training & Reinforcers

Click & Treat

By Chris Biro

The question is often asked “Is it important to offer a treat every time you click a behavior?”

Yes it is important to follow each click with a treat. The clicker only gains its value as a training tool due to the association the animal makes with the sound of the clicker and the following treat. Fail to deliver the treat and the effectiveness of the clicker will diminish.

This is different than choosing not to click a correct behavior and thus not reinforcing that correct behavior - see also the article on Variable Reinforcement. The click serves three main functions:

  1. The click identifies the exact moment the animal did something that earned it a goody.
  2. The click promises a goody has been earned as is on its way.
  3. The click signals the end of the behavior.

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Wednesday
Feb172010

Two Ways a Dog Learns

Two Ways a Dog Learns: Consequences & Associations

Written by Aidan Bindoff

If we expect our dogs to understand us, surely, we must first attempt to understand our dogs!

Dogs learn by the consequences of their actions. “If I drop that ball at his feet, he will often throw it for me” or “Last time I stole a sausage from the barbecue, I burnt my tongue. Better not do that again.”

Dogs also have emotions. “Those fireworks scare me!” or “Someone is at the door, YIPEEE!!!”

Both of those concepts, learning by consequences and the experience of emotion, are something we can relate to. We might learn as children that eating all our vegetables gets us dessert, leaving them on the plate means missing out! We might associate a certain song with a special time in our lives, bringing back good feelings.

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Friday
Feb122010

Intrinsic Motivation: Dogtor Feel Good

Many people experience training problems with their dogs and I think this is partly due to misconceptions around motivation. Motivation is a condition of wanting something and being focused to behave in a certain way in order to attain that something. The behaviour has a purpose; a goal, the fulfilment of some need, interest, desire, preference etc.

Motivation is what spurs a dog to act. So is there some secret to motivating your dog? No, you simply train your dog using what your dog wants, likes, and needs to achieve the behaviours that you want.

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Sunday
Feb072010

Why Use Food In Training?

Occasionally I encounter clients who are uneasy with the idea of using food for training their dog.  They somehow see it as cheating, or a bribe. Instead, they ask why it is not sufficient to use only praise and petting as rewards, and corrections when the dog gets it wrong?

Modern trainers no longer use punishment based training because it is out-of-date, unkind to the dog, and much less effective than reward based training. Traditional training is about making a dog do what you want, modern training is about motivating a dog to want to do what you want.

Click to read more ...