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Things have changed a lot since you raised your last
puppy 20 years ago. New understanding of animal behaviour has led to
a veritable revolution in the methods used to train most domestic
animals, including horses and cattle. But the greatest amount of
research has gone into man's best friend, and at long last we know
how to treat our dogs with the gentle firmness they crave.
If
you've been reading about parenting human children the past few
years, you've probably heard a lot about "positive discipline."
You've been told to catch your kids being good and reward them for
it. The same principle applies to raising a puppy, and it works just
as well as it does for kids.
Practicing Positive Discipline
Step
One: Decide what behaviour you want.
Step
Two: Reward it.
Step
Three: Ignore any behaviour that is not the one you want.
Notice--we are not punishing the behaviours we don't want.
Punishment is a form of attention, and attention is what dogs want
most of all. They'd rather be yelled at or even hit with a rolled-up
newspaper than be ignored. A behaviour you ignore will go away faster
than one you punish. A behaviour you reward will happen more
frequently.
...praise him when his feet are on the ground,
he will jump up less and less...
 Example:
Do you want your dog to jump up on you in greeting? If not, what do
you want him to do? If you want him to wriggle around happily but
keep his paws on the ground, it's helpful to start modifying his
behaviour toward that end from the very first day you get him. (If
he's already in the habit of jumping up, it's not too late--it'll
just take longer for him to get the new idea!)
So you
come into the room, and your puppy jumps on you. IGNORE IT. Keep
walking. Don't say anything. If he gets no attention from you,
there's no reason for the dog to keep jumping up. But don't forget
Step Number Two. When your puppy finally has all four feet on the
ground, immediately reward him by giving him attention. Now he has
learned a valuable lesson. He has learned that jumping up gets him
nowhere; and just as importantly, he has learned that standing
squarely on the ground does get him attention.
Has he
learned for once and for all not to jump up? Not yet. But if you
consistently ignore his jumping, and consistently pet him and praise
him when his feet are on the ground, he will jump up less and less,
and stare at you adoringly from the floor awaiting your attention.
(Which you will never fail to give him.)
One more
example: If you are using a
crate for housebreaking,
first of all, good for you! Next, you probably don't want your puppy
to whine and cry the whole time he's in the crate. OK, that's the
behaviour you don't want. So what do you do when he whines and cries?
That's right; IGNORE IT. What is the behaviour that you want?
Silence? So only let him out of the crate when he's quiet. This can
be trickier in practice than it sounds. It involves hiding behind
corners and then running to the crate quickly before he starts that
racket again. . . but if you are consistent about ignoring the noise
and rewarding the quiet, pretty soon you'll have a reasonably quiet
dog.
Sometimes you’ll need to stop a
behaviour
to prevent your dog from injuring itself
As you
can see, it's necessary to decide what you want from your dog so you
know when to praise and when to ignore. And if you make a mistake
and yell instead of ignoring, well, the world isn't going to come to
an end. You haven't ruined your dog for life. You'll just have to
admit your mistake and start over again. Hey, these are dogs--they
know we're only human!
So
how do you intervene when you need to stop a behaviour?
Yes, there are times when simply ignoring
a behaviour isn’t enough. Sometimes you’ll need to stop a
behaviour to
prevent your dog from injuring itself or another, for example.
One of
the most useful sounds you can learn to make is the puppy "arp!"
This is a short high-pitched yipping sound similar to what puppies
say to each other to indicate "stop!" This is how puppies learn
their limits when playing with each other, and it works for you as
well. It’s a language puppies and dogs instantly recognize; it needs
no translation.
A few well-placed "no’s" are much more
effective than a constant stream of them
If
you’ve ever seen puppies play, you’ve seen how they tumble, chase
and chew on each other. When one is playing too rough or biting too
hard, the other will give out that short "arp" sound, which tells
the other pup to back off, and it works. You’ll hear that sound a
lot as pups figure out what’s OK and not OK with each other. It’s
the same sound a pup would make if someone accidentally stepped on
his tail, for example. It’s a very effective form of puppy "ouch!"
Unfortunately, once a pup goes to a new home, he no longer has a
common language with which to communicate with his new pack.
Learning the "arp" is an excellent way to interrupt undesirable
behaviours that you can’t simply ignore, and helps you set limits
for your pup. This helps him quickly understand how to fit in with
his new pack.
Here’s
how to use it effectively. Say your puppy is playing with you and
starts chewing on you or your clothing. Immediately give a short
high-pitched "arp!" Your pup will stop, but only briefly. As soon as
she stops, withdraw whatever she was chewing on, and give her an
acceptable substitute. Then praise her for chewing on the right
thing. Or you can follow the "arp" with a command such as sit, and
praise her for the sit. The important point is to immediately stop
the undesired behaviour, replace it with an acceptable behaviour, and
reward the right behaviour. Be sure to spend as much time as possible
catching her in the act of doing the right thing and rewarding that,
so she won’t be so busy trying out a variety of unwelcome behaviours
just to get your attention!
It’s
also OK to train your pup or dog to a short, loud "No!" You can even
pair the "no" with the "arp," saying "no" once immediately after
saying "arp." Pairing something the pup already knows with a novel
sound or gesture is how professional behaviourists train animals to
respond to a variety of words or gestures. It’s very useful. But
remember, use "no" sparingly, and only if the pup or dog is doing
something that really MUST be stopped (such as injury to itself or
another), and cannot just be ignored. Too many "no’s" will frighten,
intimidate and often confuse a pup (just like with children). A few
well-placed "no’s" are much more effective than a constant stream of
them.
So
what other fun behaviour modification things can you do?
When
housebreaking your pup, keep repeating the same word over and over
while she’s outside for toilet time, until she actually goes. Then
vigorously reward her. After a while, she’ll go on command whenever
she’s outside and hears the magic word. This is very handy when the
weather is foul. Be sure to make it a unique sound that she’s not
likely to hear often. You don’t want her to respond while she’s in
the living room, for example.
Pair her verbal commands such as "sit," "down," "stay" with hand
signals – these are usually taught in most obedience classes. Once
she knows the behaviours you’re trying to teach, and understands the
association with particular hand gestures, you can show off all her
terrific behaviours using just hand signals! (It’s how the Hollywood
dogs are trained to do complex behaviours onscreen).
Don’t forget: Always use lots of rewards and patience when
teaching new behaviours. Your pet will need to succeed at many "baby
steps" to eventually get to the right behaviour. Catch your dog in
the act of doing the right thing and reward her enthusiastically.
Make training sessions short and fun, and always end each training
session on a positive note, so your dog will always be able to
succeed.
Most
important of all – have fun with your training! When it’s done with
positive reinforcement, it’s a game and a delight, not a chore!
Source: Dr. Laurie Green
Pet Care Information Centre
www.petcare.umn.edu |
