command!
Dogs love to learn and perform, especially if it means earning your praise.
----
Working with Serious Behavior Problems
Serious behavior problems, such as chasing cars and being over-protective of family members, require focused retraining sessions at first. These sessions don’t have to be long, but they should be free of distractions for both you and your dog. Try to fit in two or three short sessions a day initially. Once your dog understands what is expected of him, you can decrease the number of focused training sessions and reinforce the retraining during the course of your daily routines.
----
One of the most valuable benefits of retraining is the positive effect it has on the relationship between you and your pet. As you work together, you’ll feel a kinship, a sense of being a team, that will strengthen the bond between you.
Training Techniques
There are many behavioral techniques for training animals. Learning occurs as a result of positive or negative reinforcement such as food treats, praise, or physical restraint and discipline. Many trainers believe that physical discipline (punishment) should be used as the primary method to subdue a dog. But the trade-off is that punishment creates contrariness, lack of trust, and resentment, all of which can build into aggression.
I’ve found that positive motivation, such as food treats or physical affection, is much easier and more effective for training than physical discipline. Furthermore, positive interaction deepens the bond of affection, trust, and respect between owner and pet.
Following are quick descriptions of the most common training techniques in use today.
Classical conditioning teaches a dog to react or respond to a signal not usually associated with the behavior. Dr. Ivan Pavlov’s experiments involving training a dog to salivate at the sound of a bell are the most familiar and descriptive example of classical conditioning. First Pavlov paired the sound of a bell with an automatic response—salivating at the sight of meat. Eventually Pavlov “taught” the dog to salivate at the sound of the bell when no meatwas present. Today, clicker training is a good example of classical conditioning—dogs are taught to respond to variations of the “click” from the clicker tool.
Counter conditioning teaches a dog to replace a problem behavior with a more acceptable behavior. The acceptable behavior distracts the dog and interferes with exhibition of the problem behavior. For example, if your dog begs for food from the table, you can train him to lie down at your feet or in another room during mealtime, either of which will prevent him from begging.
Desensitization is the process of gradually diminishing a dog’s fear of a particular thing or event by exposing him to it in incrementally increasing amounts. This technique can be used to cure a dog’s phobia of thunderstorms, for example (see the box below).
Intermittent reinforcement helps sustain the succesful training of a dog. Once he’s been trained, the dog does not get a treat or reward every time he exhibits the appropriate behavior; he gets one only every now and then. He’ll learn to perform the good habit consistently in the hope that this time he’ll get the reward.
Operant conditioning is a very effective technique for “shaping” behavior through trial and error and rewards. For example, a rat learning to press a bar or a button to get food is experiencing operant conditioning. You can use operant conditioning to encourage your dog in an appropriate behavior that he sometimes performs; simply praise him lavishly or otherwise reward him every time he performs it.
----
Thunderstorms:
A Case Study in Desensitization
Many dogs become frightened and behave badly during thunderstorms. You can use a desensitization technique to relieve your pet’s anxiety. Play a tape recording of thunder at a low sound level when the dog is relaxed or happily engaged in a favorite
Dogs love to learn and perform, especially if it means earning your praise.
----
Working with Serious Behavior Problems
Serious behavior problems, such as chasing cars and being over-protective of family members, require focused retraining sessions at first. These sessions don’t have to be long, but they should be free of distractions for both you and your dog. Try to fit in two or three short sessions a day initially. Once your dog understands what is expected of him, you can decrease the number of focused training sessions and reinforce the retraining during the course of your daily routines.
----
One of the most valuable benefits of retraining is the positive effect it has on the relationship between you and your pet. As you work together, you’ll feel a kinship, a sense of being a team, that will strengthen the bond between you.
Training Techniques
There are many behavioral techniques for training animals. Learning occurs as a result of positive or negative reinforcement such as food treats, praise, or physical restraint and discipline. Many trainers believe that physical discipline (punishment) should be used as the primary method to subdue a dog. But the trade-off is that punishment creates contrariness, lack of trust, and resentment, all of which can build into aggression.
I’ve found that positive motivation, such as food treats or physical affection, is much easier and more effective for training than physical discipline. Furthermore, positive interaction deepens the bond of affection, trust, and respect between owner and pet.
Following are quick descriptions of the most common training techniques in use today.
Classical conditioning teaches a dog to react or respond to a signal not usually associated with the behavior. Dr. Ivan Pavlov’s experiments involving training a dog to salivate at the sound of a bell are the most familiar and descriptive example of classical conditioning. First Pavlov paired the sound of a bell with an automatic response—salivating at the sight of meat. Eventually Pavlov “taught” the dog to salivate at the sound of the bell when no meatwas present. Today, clicker training is a good example of classical conditioning—dogs are taught to respond to variations of the “click” from the clicker tool.
Counter conditioning teaches a dog to replace a problem behavior with a more acceptable behavior. The acceptable behavior distracts the dog and interferes with exhibition of the problem behavior. For example, if your dog begs for food from the table, you can train him to lie down at your feet or in another room during mealtime, either of which will prevent him from begging.
Desensitization is the process of gradually diminishing a dog’s fear of a particular thing or event by exposing him to it in incrementally increasing amounts. This technique can be used to cure a dog’s phobia of thunderstorms, for example (see the box below).
Intermittent reinforcement helps sustain the succesful training of a dog. Once he’s been trained, the dog does not get a treat or reward every time he exhibits the appropriate behavior; he gets one only every now and then. He’ll learn to perform the good habit consistently in the hope that this time he’ll get the reward.
Operant conditioning is a very effective technique for “shaping” behavior through trial and error and rewards. For example, a rat learning to press a bar or a button to get food is experiencing operant conditioning. You can use operant conditioning to encourage your dog in an appropriate behavior that he sometimes performs; simply praise him lavishly or otherwise reward him every time he performs it.
----
Thunderstorms:
A Case Study in Desensitization
Many dogs become frightened and behave badly during thunderstorms. You can use a desensitization technique to relieve your pet’s anxiety. Play a tape recording of thunder at a low sound level when the dog is relaxed or happily engaged in a favorite
Similar Books
