Using a force-free approach to dog training through the use of positive reinforcement (+R) has been endorsed by most of the major organisations interested in dog welfare, not just in UK but internationally.
One of the keystones of this way of training is that you should always set your dog up for success.
To do this we need to:
Be the centre of our dogs’ lives; that isn’t the same as them being the centre of our lives, we can have other things going on but our dogs need to believe that all the best things that happen come from us. This way they will want to turn to us, not all the other things going on around them.
Reinforce what we like while being careful not to reinforce those things we don’t. If for instance if we have sociable dogs, which most are, and we ignore them all the time they are at rest or walking quietly alongside but taking notice as soon as they bark at the postman, chase a cat or jump up where you don’t want them to be they will be spend less and less doing those things that result in them being ignored
Make active training times the highlight of their lives – to do this will be both easier and more effective if done in frequent short bursts.
Only ask our dogs to do what they are capable of, training everything in bite sized increments, using luring, shaping and capturing (which you will all have seen on the videos). Be sure that your dog has learned the previous step before going on to the next. If appropriate test before you move on and revisit earlier steps to help ensure that the behaviour is solid. If things are going wrong go back to the last point at which all was well and progress more slowly (ask for help)
Ensure that we don’t ask for something the dog can’t do either because it hasn’t been adequately taught or because the distractions are too high. To help a dog respond to a cue we can reduce the criteria i.e. ask the dog to do something a bit easier like asking them to do a 10ft recall rather than 10meters. Reduce the chances of distraction by starting in a less distracting environment. Restrict access to the environment, for instance by using a long line, and/or increase the value of the rewards we are using to reinforce the wanted behaviours.
Be consistent, it doesn’t matter whether you like your dog on the floor or sitting up beside you, in your bed or their own, you can even teach them to always ‘ask’ but don’t expect them to understand rules that keep changing. If there is to be a change it is better to set the rules to be stricter than you want and ease up a little than keep adding to the rules, which can cause stress.
Always end while your dog wants to do more. End on a good note and end with a bit of a party so they have a happy memory of their training, ready to want more next time
My main original source was dogwelfarecampaign.org – a website that is no longer available
Additional Training Tips
Playing the Fruit Machines
“My dog won’t do anything without food” is an often hear moan among us less experienced handlers. There could possibly be a reason for this, and “no” to all the food sceptics out there, giving up food is not the only way – there are other possible solutions and one approach is outlined below
Did you know that your dog is, almost certainly, an inveterate gambler?
Think Fruit Machines and just for the moment try and think about some of the things you could feel about the returns you might get. You put 50p in and nearly every time you do it you get 10p or 20p back. After a while you get bored and don’t bother. The regular small pay-out just isn’t worth the effort you put in. Now you go to another Fruit Machine and the first time you have a go you get a £1 out GREAT you are in profit. Sometimes there is no pay-out but from time to time there is a clatter and you are rewarded with anything from 20p to £5. Now the game is looking like fun, you are more than prepared to keep pushing the money in because the payouts are worth it and every now and then you ‘hit the jackpot’ with a cascade of £1 coins being disgorged What a wonderful game, you are now well hooked into it. Even if the rewards become fewer so long as every now and then, out of the blue, you get a winner and ever ahead the tantalizing ‘big one’ you are likely to want to keep playing.
This pattern is replicated in the brains of our canine companions even more strongly because they can’t work out the logic and don’t know that at the end of the day the bank is always the winner. So once your dog knows what it is doing and getting it right 98% of the time start taking away the rewards on a variable schedule. Always frequently enough and variably enough to keep him hooked but gradually reducing. Also don’t forget that for a great response reward him with a jackpot for doing extra well.
A variable schedule for rewards will mean gradually decreasing the frequency of reward but always varying between longer and shorter spacing so maybe 2 together then miss 1 then give one miss 3 give 2 miss 4 give 1 miss 1 give 2 miss 6 give 1 miss 2 give 2 etc. It also means varying what the reward is, food, toy, praise etc. timing of the reward and the manner of rewarding such as not always taking food from a pocket or pouch. For more information on this topic it is worth reading the chapter on ‘Factors that Affect Learning’ in Excel-Erated Learning by Pamela Reid
There is a reverse to the coin though – this time think of a coffee machine.
Every time you go to get a cup of coffee you put your 50p in and out comes a cup of coffee, day in and day out, until one day it doesn’t. Now what? You can’t do without your caffeine fix so you put another coin in; no go. You shove the machine, trying to rattle it in case something has got stuck, still no go; you hit it, shake it and kick it. Absolutely nothing! Eventually you turn away.
This can also happen with your dog if you reward all the time. To avoid it put him/her on a variable schedule as soon as it has ‘got it’ to prevent the possible bad behaviour that may come with a sudden cessation of rewards
If you have been inadvertently rewarding a dog for bad behaviour with some form of attention it is possible to correct it by ignoring it and eventually a behaviour which gets no reward will disappear (extinction) but often becomes more exaggerated first, known as an ‘extinction burst’. This can be difficult and upsetting for you and your dog – a better way of doing it is to teach an alternative, incompatible behaviour first then ensure your dog is not inadvertently rewarded for the old behaviour.
Use of ‘extinction’ as a way of changing behaviour is not generally considered a good option as it can cause the dog a lot of stress and may not be successful. Training an alternative, incompatible behaviour is usually considered preferable but it is important to be aware of the process.
East Enders and Pink Fluffy Slippers
What has this to do with dog training you may ask? After all you probably don’t watch East Enders and have never even owned a pair of fluffy pink slippers The answer may not be immediately obvious but try doing your training every evening just before you put your slippered feet up to relax for half an hour in front of your favourite soap (you can mentally replace slippers with preferred footwear and East Enders with your favourite programme)
Each time you train you end with a ‘sit’ just as the music starts. You do this for a couple of weeks because you are just about to join a training class and your dog eventually gets it off pat.
You turn up at the training class and it seems that all your training has gone out the window (how many people have said to the instructor “But he does it so well at home”). Why so good at home and bad in class?
One of the reasons could be that your dog has only learned that ‘sit’ means put your bottom on the ground beside a pair of slippers when a certain tune is playing.
Once your dog has ‘got’ a new behaviour you need to practice in as many places as possible; the street, the garden, the kitchen, the bathroom, shops that allow dogs in, and anywhere else you can think of, until s/he knows that ‘sit’ means put your bottom on the ground where ever you are and regardless of what distractions may be going on.
This is called generalisation