Bewildered about training your dog? Don't know why your dog doesn't understand what you want it to do? This article will help you understand the basic principles as to why dogs do what they do.
The goal is to develop a conditioned response. You want your dog to sit every time you command "Sit" not occasionally, but all of the time. It is not a democracy; your commands are not subject to a vote. If a dog is chasing a cat, bird, or another dog that is running out into the road, we want the dog to respond to the "stop" command immediately.
Dogs Learn By Association:
Dogs learn by location association and repetitiveness. We learned how a dog associates through Pavlov's studies: By ringing a bell and then offering food repeatedly and doing this consistently Pavlov's dogs began to salivate upon hearing the bell alone, before the food was even offered. Because the food presentation always followed the sound of the bell, the dogs anticipated and expected that a snack was soon to come once they heard the ringing. In other words, the dogs developed an association between the ringing of the bell and the presentation of food. The ringing of the bell and the food presentation was consistent. Pavlov always offered the food immediately after ringing the bell. Consistent repetitions are the key elements to successful dog training.
In obedience training you want to create a conditioned response to a specific cue or command. This is where "low level stimulus" can play a big roll with electronic collars. In Pavlov's experiments, he was able to have dogs automatically salivate when he rang a bell. As a trainer you need to train a dog to respond to specific commands the first time you give them. Your electronic collar with low level stimulation becomes Pavlov's bell.
Training dog collars have been a controversial item with the impression that they cause discomfort to your dog. Discomfort is one thing you never want to cause. The proper low level stimulus will not cause discomfort. State of the art training dog collars have various levels of stimulation. By using the very lowest setting that your dog will be aware of is sufficient. If you are consistent in using low level stimulation every time your dog engages in a dangerous, or unacceptable action, your dog will soon associate the two and know what is acceptable.
You must provide your dog with immediate feedback; you do not want the dog to ignore a command because he would rather keep on chasing. We love our dogs and want to keep them out of harm's way. There is no better way to protect them than through training. The goal in training is to teach dogs to comply with commands as a conditioned response, a response that they don't think about each time they hear it. This means that with your tracking collars we must be consistent in using low level stimulation.
Dogs are Place Oriented:
Dogs associate negatives and positives with specific places. This means that as a trainer you must reward or correct your dog where the desired or undesired behavior occurred. This is an important concept for you to implement because if you command the dog to sit at point A and the dog instead moves to point B, 20 yards away, it is a mistake to reprimand the dog at point B. The dog will associate the correction with what he is doing at point B. As a result, the dog will not associate the correction with the failure to comply with the "sit" command at point A and will have no idea what is wrong with what he is doing at point B. This will lead to apprehension, confusion, and lack of trust. With an electronic collar immediate correction can easily be given at the appropriate time and place.
We can incorporate the dog's natural inclination to be place oriented throughout our training. Teaching a dog to stop and stay stopped, or stay out of the garbage all involves place orientation. As a trainer, you can take advantage of the dog's characteristics and make them work for us. It is important to understand that, in addition to rewarding or correcting the dog at the place where the behavior occurred, you must respond quickly. For example, if you command, "Here," and the dog runs away, or ignores you correcting the dog five minutes later or when we finally catch him at a different place will be counterproductive. The dog will not associate the correction with originally failing to obey the command. Rewarding or correcting the dog at the place where the act occurred as soon as it happens is important for the dog to make the desire association. This is much easier to do with today's tracking and training collars.
Dogs Are Pack Animals:
In every pack there is a leader and one leader only. Your dogs must perceive you as the leader of the pack or they will do whatever they want whenever they want to do it. This does not mean that you should be harsh with your dogs. It does mean that you must first show your dogs what you want them to do and incorporate consistent repetitions in all of your training efforts. Good trainers are patient mentors who do not have unrealistic expectations of their dogs. Training takes place a little at a time.
If you are consistent, give a command only once, reward for success, and correct for non-compliance, at the proper place, the dog will perceive you as a trusted leader. It is a dog's nature to test, so be patient because there will be much testing. If you are consistent, understand how a dog learns and what motivates him, you will be successful.
Dogs Do Not Understanding the English Language:
Unfortunately, many dog owners operate under the false impression that their dog innately understands what they are saying. The problem is that even really "smart dogs" need to be shown what a command means numerous times before they get it. Attributing too much intelligence to a dog may lead you to thinking your dog will know what behavior is expected in response to a particular command after being shown only a few times. The result is that the owner may correct the dog for non-compliance when the dog does not understand why he is being corrected. If this happens it can cause big problems in your training efforts. Your dog will become confused, frustrated and non complaint. It's in a dog's nature to associate the correction with something. However, the association the dog makes may not be the association you want. It is important to understand that a dog should never be corrected if he does not know why the correction is taking place.
When correcting a dog, it is imperative to show him what is expected numerous times. This is the first stage of learning. Your objective is to show the dog the response you are looking for when you give the command and if you think the dog has "got it," repeat the process some more.
If you are patient, consistent, take immediate corrective action and show respect for your dog your training efforts will be rewarded. When you start having success don't be disappointed if your dog tests you because he will. Again be consistent and you will build a special bond with your dog which will last a life time.
Joseph Badillo is a C.P.A. with a thirty five year financial career spanning a number of consumer goods corporations. He improved operational efficiencies and internal controls in manufacturing facilities throughout the United States, Mexico, South America and Europe. Joe is also an adjunct professor teaching financial subjects at a local university in South Florida. He brings extensive business experience to academia.
In late 2009, he began Solutions III, a holding company for a number of e-commerce web sites.
A former hunting & target shooting enthusiast, He began http://www.etrainingdogcollars.com/, an online company, providing high quality training collars and sport shooting accessories for all breeds of hunting and working dogs.
Sites for underwater photography, solar lighting and publications on various health issues are under development.
