Reinforce Behavior that is Desired!

Those of us who have taught obedience training classes for decades with hundreds and hundreds of canines-human students, realize that this is a difficult concept for many to grasp.

One of the main challenges is a person’s inability to “OBSERVE” what they are reinforcing when actively interacting with their pup or adult doggie. Speaking about a technique is one thing, actually seeing it and implementing with proper timing is another.

Ola is now a year old and going through his teenage period, but I know due to his strong foundation of socialization and reinforcement of desired behavior that he will develop into a reliable and confident companion with perseverance. This can be developed with any dog if the philosophy of willingness to “start from where he/she is and progress methodically from there” is applied.

Diligent and methodical training-playing-experiences were the path paved for Ola from Day ONE. Working from wherever he had progressed to so that challenges were given in easy to handle doses and he could feel success (building confidence). So when a person comments that Ola is so well-behaved because he is a “Old soul,” I get a “Are you kidding me?” reaction in my gut. His rascal (granted very cute) behavior could have just as easily been reinforced leading to a jumping, excessive vocal, demanding teenage pup, which would carry over into adulthood. All dogs (and 2-legged kids) have some crazies in them, whether or not the “crazies” gets the attention and is reinforced versus reinforcing the balanced periods is another.

Puppies are like SPONGES! And, even a newly rescued adult dog will be checking out his/her environment and work within the system set (if any) up for it. WHAT you let him or her soak up is all on YOU!!!! So if you find yourself grumbling about this and that, it is on you and time to get onto a diligent game plan!

An imbalanced dog (shy, reactive, trying to rule your home, biting, not trusting you to touch paws, etc.) is a dog under extra stress. There is no clear leader setting the tone for his/her steady life. So they are constantly winging it due to the uncertainty and pushing the parameters. This means his/her hormonal system will register excess “stress” and shoot more than normal cortisol levels throughout his/her body. Do you really want this for your dog?

A classic example that I observed regularly when trying to recruit others to help socialize Ola were INCORRECTLY reinforcing (by giving attention) when he jumped up on them. Example: As Ola was jumping and not settling on all 4 paws (desired)–the person would be saying, “no, no, calm down, good boy, good boy” in a sing-song voice. It was like they were “willing” Ola to be a good boy–Reinforcement DOES NOT work this way!!!! YOU are allowing this sponge to absorb that jumping and acting silly (yes, cute for puppy but not for an adult dog so you’d need to retrain a bad habit that YOU trained in the first place) gets them attention. They do NOT know what words are being conveyed, they just know you are interacting with them. So instead, I instructed helpers to turn away and ignore him SILENTLY and when he settled to turn back to him and give him attention and a treat, WHILE all 4 paws were on the ground. If he got excited again and jumped, the process was repeated immediately.

This same principle applied to Ola jumping up on exercise pen near pool when he’d go back to rubberneck at my client’s friendly dogs. Some Moms and Dads easily understood the instruction of silently turning away when he would climb up on the exercise pen. When he was on all 4 paws again for them to go ahead and pet him. During this teenage period, he started pulling away from certain people when they tried to touch his head. Yes! Expect these assertive behaviors that need to be worked on when they grow older. One Mom who hasn’t had any obedience training knew instinctively to treat and pet on top of his head and treat and pet. He was getting reinforced for letting her briefly pet his head with a treat! End on a good note and build up from there.

This same simple but seemingly difficult technique to implement is used for NON-purposeful vocalization. A classic mistake is talking to your dog while they are barking or complaining. You are encouraging them to become more and more vocal because YOU are joining in and reinforcing their blabbing. Example: Pup barks or grumbles and a typical incorrect response would be to join in from their perspective by asking “what are you barking at?” or “what do you want?” or “stop barking!” where they typically continue barking. AND, they will utilize this more and more with your (incorrect) reinforcement. Instead, ignoring (NO looking, talking or touching) your pup if the vocalization is directed at you. And, only when they are quiet does he/she get praise. OR, in the case of vocalization at something else, silently put a slip leash on and REDIRECT them where you’d move away from stimulant (distance where alertness calms) have them sit and give praise and a treat would lay the precedent for GOOD THING HAPPENS when I follow my family leader quietly to get praise and a treat.

Do you want a reliable and confident dog that can truly enjoy life with you and be balanced enough even when you are away at work or on vacation with a quality sitter? NO? The question would be WHY NOT? Might be time for self-reflection upon your own needs of wanting a dog that remains insecure and needy (stressed!).

Your willingness to address challenges faced by your dog head on with a methodical game plan will determine how steady and happy of a dog you develop. Increased AWARENESS on WHAT YOU ARE ACTUALLY reinforcing is a MUST for any successful training!

BE crystal clear in what desired behavior you are reinforcing!!! A sharp-low “AH” timed well is all that is normally needed, when you’ve done your foundational work. Work Remedial if necessary. STOP THE SING-SONG VOICE corrections. The do NOT work!!! Always end on a positive note where you helped them succeed briefly.

Stay the course and there will be no regrets!