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Training Methods
Every dog owner wants a dog who obeys. But its hard to own a dog without getting overwhelmed by all the different training methods. Traditional dog training methods (which use choke
chains, prong or electronic shock collars) have been used for generations and can be very attractive to a new dog owner. Positive methods (using treats, praise, clickers, etc.) can be daunting
and scary for a new dog owner who is afraid his dog will never obey with out a cookie.
How do you decide which method is right for you and your dog?
Read on. You may have to get rid of ideas that are based in traditional dog training, things you have heard from your family, friends or neighbours, or from traditional dog training or
breed books.
Traditional dog training is probably what your parents used or you used with your last dog. It generally involves the use of a leash "jerk" on the collar to correct a dog's behavior.
The "jerk" can be made harsher with a choke chain, prong collar or electronic shock collar. This main problem with this is that we humans are rarely perfect, so we can rarely
deliver the adverise consequence (the "jerk") with adequately precise timing. Further, humans all differ in physical strength. So a while a healthy 200 lb man can often administer
a jerk with adequate strength, a healthy petite woman may not be able to.
If your timing is not absolutely perfect, or your strength is not sufficent to administer a strong enough deterrent, the dog could be feeling the punishment of the jerk too late or not
strongly enough. Rather than a learning experience, this simply becomes painful and confusing. Over time, continued "jerk" or "choke" training teaches dogs that walking on a leash hurts,
and taht his owner is untrustworthy and unpredictable.
Another problem is that even people with great timing and strength may be asking too much of a young dog. Let's say you are taking a 6 month Lab out for his first "heel" session and hes never really been
out of your fenced yard other than to go to the vet. It is likely that he will be pulling like mad all over the place and tangling you up in the leash. Alternately he could be scared
of the outdoors that he moves too slowly or not at all when you try to get him to walk nicely at your side. What do you do?
If you are expecting this Lab to do a perfect heel you may end up administering your perfectly times and effective jerk almost continually, because he is almost continually NOT
heeling. So the poor dog goes out for his walk and quickly learns more than what you are teaching. He learns walking on leash is painful. Most new dog owners do not know how to distinguish
between what is a jerkable offense and what is not, because it really depends onthe particular dog and what that dog is capable of at that time.
Lastly a choke or prong collar can seriously injure the neck of a puppy under six months of age. This is why traditional training normally can't be started until the dog is at least 6 months or older. And as any
dog owner knows, a 6 month old untrained dog has learned a multitude of bad habits already.
Positive method training teaches that certain behaviors result in a pleasant consequence and all other behaviors result in no consequence at all. This method starts
out with pretty heavy usage of treats as the pleasant consequence, whether you are using a clicker, or just a happy YES as your marker. Over time and depending on practice frequency, the dog's accomplishment
level and owner's satisfaction with the dog's behavior, the food consequence is phased out while praise and verbal commands and/or hand signals remain.
Positive method training can and should be started the day your bring your puppy home. Any pup can handle eating and getting praised. There are so many things a very young pup does right as he goes through his day,
and the informed and aware dog owner can identify and name those behaviors and quickly reward the dog for them.
There is no need to wait until his neck is strong enough to endure jerk and pull training. How does that compare to letting a pup run around and develop bad behavior and then punish
him for them when his is older. How great would it be to have a 6 month puppy who is trained and a dog that loves training and completely trusts his owner?
However, if you are suddenly the owner of a 4 year old untrained adult dog, positive method training is still your best bet to get this under control. It is much easier when you start early,
but all is not lost if you start later in life.
Next, your timing need not be perfect when you are delivering a treat. As a matter of fact, what positive method trainers call variable reinforcement is actually more effective than predicable delivery.
So your imperfect timing is actually an advantage!
Another great advantage to positive method training is that it makes it so easy for a pup of any age to pay attention in an otherwise distracting environment. Which dog do you think will obey better?
The one on a busy sidewalk getting jerked and popped repeatedly, of the one on a busy sidewalk with liver in front of his nose who keeps hearing good dog!
Further, because positive method training requires only fun and trust, it greatly enhances the dog-owner relationship. A solid trust between you and your dog means you almost never have to worry about him turing on you when you
encounter a difficult situation. It also means he is much more likely to trust humans in general. You don't have to worry about punishing your dog and your dog never has to develop fears and fight or flight defenses to deal with the
owner's random administration of painful consequences.
Think about what you are doing, how it will affect your long term relationship with your dog and what your dog is really learning. Then make your decision ... and get some really yummy treats!
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