Books & Articles
Dog Behavior Article
Traditional 'Force' Methods of Training Vs. Non-Violent, Positive Rewards
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Standard "Dog trainers" may lock a dog owner into a series of lessons. The unscrupulous ones will manufacture or intentionally spook the dog to doing some aberrant behavior and then panic the owner by saying what a potentially dangerous behavior problem the dog has and lock the family into 8-10 in home sessions, totalling any where between $500 to $5,000.
Then we have the doggy "boot camp" folks that say the dog's behavior is so serious, that only by removing the dog and having it live with them for several months, can they correct the behavior. This can cost in excess of $2,000-$10,000. I am AGAINST doggy boot camps. The methods tend to be harsh and abusive and the dog needs to learn to behave in the home context and environment.
For cats, the behavior consultations can be either over the phone or in person since the cat may or may not allow the visiting behaviorist to directly interact or handle it. Same with birds.
"Behaviorists" like myself, or "Certified Animal Behaviorists" from the Animal Behavior Society (which are usually PHD'S or DVM'S) will charge anywhere from $85 to $350 per hour. Usually the in-home behavior modification program, for either dogs or cats, will entail an initial visit or intake/history taking session, where the behaviorist will collect all the pertainent social, behaviorial and medical data, and ascertain the frequency, intensity, and duration of the behavior problem as well as the antecedent and consequent events surrounding the problem.
Then the behaviorist will outline a 4-24 week behavior mod program for the animal's people to implement at home, where and with the people the problem is occurring, and will do one or two follow&n bsp; up visits, and the rest will be done by either phone or email.
Most force-method trainers subscribe to four myths about dog training:
MYTH 1 : ONLY ONE PERSON SHOULD TRAIN THE DOG.
MYTH 2 : THE DOG MUST BE MORE THAN A YEAR OLD TO LEARN.
MYTH 3 : YOU MUST USE A CHOKE CHAIN AND PAIN TO TRAIN YOUR DOG.
MYTH 4 : IF YOU PRACTICE AT HOME AND IN CLASS, YOUR DOG WILL RESPOND EQUALLY WELL IN NOVEL SITUATIONS AND ENVIRONMENTS.
MYTH 1 - ONE DOG, ONE TRAINER
If only one person trains the dog, you create a dog that is responsive to that person and unresponsive to others. Quite often, families come to obedience classes with a dog that listens to the husband, but completely ignores the wife and kids. Questioning reveals that the husband is the one who feeds the dog. Walks it. Reprimands it. Attempts to teach it basic commands. The wife and children are nowhere to be found during this process. Very quickly, the dog, like a human teenager, figures out which parent, or pack leader, is consistent and sets down rules and boundaries, and which parent does not.
The dog, like the teen, respects and responds to the consistent limit setter and takes advantage of, or ignores, the inconsistent, non-involved parent. This is why the whole family needs to be involved in the dog’s training and w hy use of family therapy techniques is so crucial.
Structural Family Therapy
This analogy of parents, children, dog owners and their dogs can be taken further. Salvador Minuchin, a family therapist, has outlined what he calls "Structural Family Therapy," in which he examines the level of involvement and relating that goes on in families, between the parents and children and between parent and parent. If the parents are uninvolved, emotionally and physically, with their children, then the parent-child boundaries in this particular family are too "rigid."
On the other hand, if the parent is treating a child like a co-parent and defers inappropriate authority, or is overly involved with the child, emotionally or physically, then the parent-child boundaries are too "enmeshed." The task for Dr. Minuchin, and for family therapists like him, is to reorder extreme boundary situations to help the entire family system operate smoothly.
The same is true of your relationship with the family dog. The dog is affected by EVERYONE in the family and, EVERYONE in the family is affected by the dog. The dog does not live in isolation with one family member. If some family members have boundaries with the dog that are too rigid or distant, the dog will not come to view them as higher members in the pack. The dog will be unresponsive to these family members. If a member of the family is overly enmeshed with the dog, the dog will believe it is equal or higher than this person and it may act dominant and aggressively toward him.
To avoid either of these extremes, ALL FAMILY MEMBERS ABOVE THE AGE OF SEVEN NEED TO BE ACTIVE IN THE OBEDIENCE TRAINING OF THE DOG. For children under seven, parents should supervise and guide the child through the command techniques described below.
MYTH 2 - NO ADMISSION UNTIL AGE 1
The main reason traditional force-method trainers perpetuate the minimum age rule is because they rely on choke chains and physical punishment techniques that can injure or kill a young puppy whose muscles and bones are growing.
In fact, we believe puppies can begin some basic training as young as 8 weeks. The key is to recognize the short attention spans of dogs this young and to make the training as game-like and fun as possible. This avoids the risk of injuring or killing the puppy.
Puppy Kindergarten Class
The three main purposes of the Puppy Kindergarten Class Larry started twelve years ago, is to: 1) socialize the puppies while they're in their prime socialization period of 12 weeks through 6 months of age, 2) to teach some very basic commands (sit, come, lie down and heel), and 3) to overcome a couple of common problems with puppies, chewing and house-soiling. Socialization and basic commands are addressed in this chapter; chewing and house-soiling solutions are in Chapters 1 and 2, respectively.
MYTH 3 - CHOKE CHAINS AND PAIN
We detail elsewhere why choke chains and other pain-induced learning is unnecessary and potentially harmful. But protesting their use doesn't solve the problem of large, rambunctious puppies that pull hard on the leash or older dogs that drag the owner around like a kite. Fortunately, there are alternative humane anti-pull devices.
Four Alternatives to the Choke Chain
The first alternative humane anti-pull collar is called the "K-9 Pull Control." It is an anti-pull body harness manufactured by Dog Crazy/Focus in San Diego. We use it for puppies with mild to moderate pulling problems -- and older dogs that have no face! No offense, but breeds with pushed-in faces -- bulldogs, pugs, Pekinese and so on -- are very susceptible to breathing problems and need to avoid throat traumas caused by choke chains and some other anti-pull devices.
The K-9 Pull Control looks like a regular body harness, but it is not. Two straps come around and in front of the shoulders and connect on top of the dog's back with a pulley system. If the dog starts to lunge ahead, its feet and shoulders are constricted. The dog cannot move or is significantly slowed down. The dog soon learns that the on ly way to go forward is at a slow, relaxed pace.
The second device we use is the "Halti Headcollar," which is made in England. This is for the more dedicated pullers, primarily for older dogs and for those breeds with a fairly well-developed muzzle area. The Halti works very much like a horse's halter, but without any bit for the mouth.
IT IS NOT A MUZZLE. As opposed to the choke chain, you never yank on the leash with the Halti, nor do you ever hear the dog gag. All you do is walk at a steady pace with your hands at your sides and the Halti works by itself. If the dog suddenly pulls ahead, the Halti creates generalized tension around the head without choking the throat. When the dog ceases its tugging, the Halti loosens. As with the K-9 Pull Control, the dog quickly learns what position to be in -- the heeling position -- to avoid tension.
The third device, "The Gentle Leader," is similar to the Halti and operates on the same principle. A fourth device, called "The Martingale Training Collar," is from Canada and is a collar of mostly cloth material, with only an inch or so of chain. Owners can use this collar to make a snapping noise with the chain without choking or hurting the dog. More on heeling below.
MYTH 4 - DOGS PERFORM THE SAME ANYWHERE, ANYTIME
Students often complain that their dogs respond to commands poorly at home -- or at the park or at the mall -- compared to their responses in class. Once the dog is responding well in familiar territory with few distractions, the owners need to practice in new areas, unfamiliar to the dog, with greater and greater distractions. This creates a dog that will more consistently respond to commands.
This is why trainers of Seeing Eye dogs take their Labs and shepherds to busy city areas with lots of traffic. The dogs are being prepared to respond to their sight-impaired owners no matter what the setting or distraction level. If you only practice with your dog in your living room or at the obedience class, you are setting up you and your dog for frustration and disappointment when you are placed in new and more distracting environments.
How To Find The Trainer You Want
It's very easy to determine whether trainers and obedience classes are using harsh and unnecessary techniques. Just look at the dogs themselves and examine their body language.
Larry remembers when he began his search for an animal trainer who used non-violent techniques. When observing traditional trainers, he noticed that many of the dogs had their ears folded back. They also had their tails stuck between their legs and their heads bowed low. These dogs were frightened, anxious and not enjoying the process. The owners were yelling commands, yanking on the choke collars and kneeing and hitting their animals. The atmosphere was far from fun. The techniques being used were abusive and were based on punishment and pain.
These techniques are in contrast to the positive reinforcement and behavior modification techniques used by animal behaviorists. How can someone determine whether a trainer is an animal behaviorist? What is the definition of an animal behaviorist?
We define an animal behaviorist as a person who either has had formal training and earned a degree in psychology or animal behavior or has apprenticed for several years with an established animal behaviorist or veterinarian who specializes in animal behavior. An animal behaviorist has the knowledge and the hands-on experience to apply positive reinforcement, classical conditioning and behavior modification techniques in attempting to remedy an animal's misbehavior.
A behaviorist is aware of the several different types of aggression displayed by dogs and can implement various "schedules of reinforcement," to help dogs -- and cats, for that matter -- get over phobias and reduce anxiety. A behaviorist approaches obedience training and behavior problems in a comprehensive, or "holistic," manner. The behaviorist looks at diet, health and environment and isn't automatically locked in to the notion that the dog itself is the problem.
Behaviorists focus on positive reinforcement. If it is a complex behavior or trick we are trying to teach the dog, we reward in baby steps, increasing the reward as the dog gets closer and closer to the final product of the behavior we want. This is referred to as "successive approximations" to the goal.
Traditional-method trainers often criticize behaviorists as being too dependent on using food treats to reward desired behavior. What happens when you need a dog to obey and you don't have any treats with you? That's a fair question. There is the risk of the dog becoming food dependent if you always show the food in front of it or have it in noisy crinkly bags and you fail to also praise and pet the dog when it obeys. But the dog will not become food dependent if you hide the treats, keep them quiet and only give them as the last link in a series of events that includes praise and petting. We get into the specifics in detail in the training chapter.
Training Lasts a Lifetime
Behaviorists also differ from traditionalists in that we don't believe there is one set time to do "training." In a sense, the dog's whole life is an exercise in training. Give an obedience command before the dog receives anything it desires or before it receives anything positive.
Before you give it its bowl of food, give the sit command. It sits, you give the food. This technique should be used before giving attention, petting, playing, eye contact, letting it in or out, and so on. The dog has to earn a living. "Training," as such, becomes a natural part of your lifestyle and will not evolve into being an extra burden made up of contrived and artificial practice sessions.
Behaviorists also see a difference between punishment and discipline. They are two very different things, a concept lost on many traditionalist trainers. Punishment, from our point of view, would be if you were pulled over for speeding by a cop whose idea to cure you of the habit was to shoot you. Punishment is meant to hurt; it is propelled by the need for revenge. Also, it's after-the-fact and it is excessive in relation to the misbehavior.
Discipline is when the officer comes up to your car, writes you a ticket and redirects you to traffic school to learn better driving behaviors. This is real correction or discipline: it fits the "crime;" it's a natural consequence for violating a privilege; it is not excessive; it does not stem from wanting to exact revenge.
So don't succumb to the temptation to do things the rushed and dirty way. There's no reason to. In the training chapters you'll learn how to train and discipline your dog in a way that will get results and make both you and your dog happy.
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