The reason why dogs don’t respond to a cue quickly is usually because the behavior has not been well generalized. You have introduced the behavior by teaching it in the home, but as soon as you add duration, distance, or distractions, the behavior seems to go straight out the window.

Unfortunately many people will wrongly assume their dog is “ignoring” them, “trying to get away with something” or “being stubborn”. When in reality the dog simple has not had enough practice or you have introduced too many changes too quickly for the dog to realize you are asking for the same behavior.

The way to solve this problem is to introduce changes slowly.  If you are working on ‘Stay’, then work on duration first. Work up from 3 seconds to 30 seconds. If you can count to 30 seconds and your dog still hasn’t moved, start adding distance. The same technique can be used for recall cues. But in this case, work on distance first. Ask for a recall from only 1 meter away, easy! then work up to 20 meters!  This will probably take multiple sessions and each session you may need to start from an easier level than the one you ended the last session with.

Once the behavior you are working on is good at duration and distance start adding distractions! That means change your environment, if you have only been working inside, take the training to the yard, or a quiet park. Start over again from the easy level, then work back up in the new environment!

The process of generalizing a behavior can take awhile if you wan the behavior to be extremely reliable so keep practicing and don’t ask your dog to do a behavior that he hasn’t practiced! That means don’t ask for a recall cue at 10 meters in a busy dog park. If you need your dog to come back ask for a ‘sit-stay’ (if you have practiced this) or simply walk up and ask for a recall from next to your dog. Always set your dog up to win, this makes training easy and fun for both of you!

1. The combination of genetics and the experiences during the first few weeks of life. (Trish King)

2. What is happening inside a dog’s mind. (Ian Dunbar)

When I looked up definitions I found…

1. The manner of thinking, behaving, or reacting characteristic of a specific person.

But the one I think is the best definition….

2. An individual’s character, disposition, and tendencies as revealed in his reactions.                                      (http://www.thefreedictionary.com)

I think the important part of that definition is ‘as revealed in his reactions’ . We can never really know what another individual is thinking, although the practice of putting yourself in someone else’s shoes is a good way to start.

So my definition of temperament is; an individual’s observable reactions to a given situation.

So then, what is personality? I believe personality is more along the lines of Trish Kings’ definition. A combination of  genetics, and not just early experiences (although those are extremely important) but ALL experiences leading up to that moment.

So when picking a puppy from a litter what should you look for to ensure you are getting a dog with a personality you will like? Well that is partly what temperament tests are for. They give you a general idea of what puppy’s reaction will be in a given situation. That way you can make an educated guess as to their personality. 

For instance if a puppy runs up to the front of the bin and jumps up to say hello, they are very confident, if they cower in the back, probably not so much! The most confident is usually considered “the pick of the litter”  and sure, confidence is nice but it doesn’t always mean calmness. Take Grogan’s description of Marley as a puppy from “Marley and Me”.   Marley was one confident puppy, but wasn’t the easiets dog to live with.

Genetics are also important. If the mom is anxious, pacing and snapping at people who get near the pups (or is no where to be seen) then you may want to think twice about adopting a pup from that litter. Shyness and anxiety ate traits that are easily passed on from mother to pups. But genetics arn’t everything.  Studies have shown that pups from shy mothers, fostered by mothers who were very outgoing and confident meant that the pups were also confident and outgoing! So obviously early learning experiences are very important.

If your dog is now a few years old, and has shown aggressive displays or phobic behaviors, does that mean you just have to live with it?

The resounding answer from canine behavior consultants is no, you don’t! There is a lot you can do to help your dog overcome phobias and to recondition them to have a safe, social, and relaxed life. Those dogs may never be social butterflies, but having the goal of safe and relaxed is pretty achievable!

 Spring is in full force now and Summer is comming up fas,t I think it is time to talk about dog behavior in dog parks.

As my puppy grew I would frequently take him to a puppy socialization group. He loves to play with other dogs, he has a passive nature and easily become fearful but with dogs he has always fety comfortable. He is confident around most dogs but does best with dogs that have a similar play style to his and particularly small dogs, his play style can be a bit rough (I am apologising to the Chihuahua he nearly stepped on last week). He likes to body slam other dogs and he enjoys chasing and being chased. He will also stop and have a good wrestle with a willing partner.

Ripley is a year and a half old now, which is certainly not a puppy anymore, well into adolescence really. So why do I continue to bring him to the socialization group? I do, because I have seen a huge benefit to puppies that meet a slightly older dog with manners.

Quite a few times now I have seen a puppy get over aroused or over threshold with the stress of the introduction to a socialization group. That’s my polite way of saying they were scared sh*tless. So I gently encourage  their owner to bring them to a quiet area of the park and I bring Ripley along. I have found that when a young dog is showing fear (lunging, screaming, panicking on the lead, or just cowering between legs) it just takes a few minutes of Ripley on his own, inviting them to play, but not being pushy, to turn things around. He offers a play bow, and if they seem scared he immediately turns his side to them and sniffs the grass, a classic calming behavior. This gives the puppy confidence and very soon they are romping and batting at each other!

Not all dogs at a play group can be so easy going as Ripley. Recently a dog about Ripley’s age showed up and started nipping and bullying the other dogs, large or small he didn’t care. He would bark  and lunge towards them in a way that made me distinctly uncomfortable. It was obvious this dog had not had enough socialization as a young puppy, and the owner was trying to make up for it at almost a year old. Unfortunately, this means that a bunch of tender, impressionable youngsters are being subjected to what is in essence a bully.

I hear a lot about how dogs should “sort it out” themselves, and maybe sometimes this is true, if the dogs are similar sizes, ages, and socialization level. But more often than not people can’t read dog body language well enough to know when a situation with a playgroup is going from “argument” level to “fist fight”. Even Ripley occasionally will have a moment of “predatory drift” with a smaller dog, and to me, that is inappropriate behavior and I interrupt him.

So please don’t be afraid to interrupt a dog/dog interaction if you are uncertain of what is happening, just because the other owner says “its alright” doesn’t mean you should let your dog be subjected to bullying, or let your dog traumatize a puppy. As smart as many dogs are at reading social cues and body language, there are plenty of dogs out there that wouldn’t know a calming signal if it sat on them! So don’t risk your dog’s well being just because you think it might be OK, if you are even a little unsure, then interrupt and redirect. For more on this subject I recommend reading Off-Leash Dog Play by Robin Bennet and Susan Briggs.

Putting an unwanted  behavior on cue is a method of training that has been used for at least the last 30 years. However it is still debated among trainers as to its effectiveness. I have used it myself with moderate affect based on the circumstances.

The idea is that if your dog is barking, or jumping up on the couch, you actually teach them to bark, or jump on the couch, the same way you would teach them a sit or a down. You show them the behavior you want … jumping on the couch, then you add a verbal cue for this behavior. The same goes for barking.

The flaw most people see right away is that if you encourage the inappropriate behavior, the dog learns that it is now a behavior that “might” get them reinforcement, so they attempt to elicit a reward by continuing the behavior you didn’t really want in the first place! The is termed “offering” a behavior, you have probably all experienced this when you say your dog’s name and she immediately sits. That is your dog “offering” a sit because in the past she has been rewarded for sitting.

So the question is, how do you put the behavior on cue, without encouraging the behavior in other situations?! My answer is this…

You must also teach the OPPOSITE behavior. If you teach barking then you must also teach “Quiet” or “Shush” (as Ian Dunbar likes to call it). If you teach Jumping up on the couch, then you must also teach jumping OFF the couch.

Then when your dog has learned both cues, you then only reinforce the unwanted behavior with praise, and immediately reinforce the desired behavior with a HUGE amount of treats. See the difference? Your dog certainly will!

This method allows your dog to CHOOSE between the OK behavior and the FANTASTICTREATSINMYMOUTHTHANKYOUPARTYTIMEEXCITING!!!!! behavior.

This method has been extremely effective for me in certain situations. For instance I had a client that I could barely talk to or hear over their Fox Terrier’s incessant, piercing, shrieks for the first 10 minutes of our session. So I stopped talking and focused on the dog. Ten minutes later the dog was CHOOSING to be quiet for long stretches (minutes at a time), so that I could continue my explanations to her caretaker. I have also used putting barking on cue for an SPCA dog who was driving the SPCA’s staff and neighbors insane.

Putting barking on cue, then making Quiet the preferred behavior is only the first step. It doesn’t mean your dog will never choose to bark again. But if you follow this training up with foundation behaviors, and alter your own habits on when you reinforce (yes, yelling at your dog when they bark IS reinforcing them), then your dogs inappropriate behaviors will come under control.

These associations not only provide educational support to their members,  they usually provide a certification process. These certification programs vary but can involve an exam or series of essays and case studies you must submit for peer approval. Many of these various associations will accept certifications from other well know associations so you don’t have to recertify if you want to be a certified member of more than one.

There are also a huge number of books on the various canine subjects that are well worth reading. I do book reviews of many of the books I am reading on my blog and so if you are interested in finding out more about these, that is a good place to start.

Then you will find the differences in what people call themselves based on how they train.

-Behaviourists are usually based on a Skinner philosophy that hold very strictly to the idea that behaviors must be observable and  “discounts any independent activities of the mind”. In reality many trainers who use the term “behaviourist/behaviourism” do not realise that is has no association with canine psychology, so they usually have a little of that thrown into their training paradigm.

-Most obedience instructors use learning theory and I have found that although they can train a dog to do almost anything, they will have a hard time explaining “how” they got the dog to do it! They usually site a training method like “dominance theory”, or “positive reinforcement” to explain what they are doing. But if you ask them to explain the principals of their training you will get a huge variety of responses, some quite reasonable and some so far out in imagination land that they are laughable, (I once heard a obedience instructor tell his class in all seriousness that you shouldn’t bow to your dog or he will think he is “King”). In what universe do dogs, live in and understand monarchies?

An Ethologist is someone who observes behavior and tries to understand why the behavior is happening, usually based on how an animal behaves in its natural environment.  As a consultant who considers herself a canine ethologist, I would observe the dog and listen to my clients observations of their dog’s behavior, then formulate their training plan based on these observations. A training plan would include reasons for these behaviors based on their instincts, environment,  previous experiences, and on the dog’s observable temperament. Observable temperament is what a dog is likely to do in any given situation.   Then I would find some possible alternate behaviors, using the laws of learning, and change the dog’s motivation in that situation. This involves teaching new behavior patterns and alternate acceptable behaviors in the form of basic or advanced obedience cues put on automatic.

The cues themselves are unimportant, except for the fact that they build confidence in the subject (the dog), that their trainer (the owner) is reliable, calm and confident. They teach the dog how to learn to learn, enjoy learning, and teach the dog’s caregiver how to change the dogs motivation in a situation where teaching an alternate behavior is simply not enough.

Although these training styles differ, I am sure you have noticed that they are also all linked. You hardly ever meet a behaviourist with no understanding of dog psychology or how to teach an obedience cue. You will be hard pressed to find a obedience instructor who doesn’t teach a little behaviourism, and an ethologist must have a good working understanding of the psychology of their chosen species, as well as a clear understanding of the laws of learning in order to explain/solve any behavior problem.

You will still find the occasional “trainer” with little or no experience in any of these fields, so buyer beware. Do a little research yourself, ask a lot of questions and if you are unhappy with, or don’t understand the answers then look somewhere else!

Here is an example situation. It is 6PM in the evening, the family is trying to watch TV, it is not yet Bella’s dinner time and she is getting antsy. She is sniffing around the couch, prodding people’s legs, trying to instigate playtime. Her family is trying to ignore her while they watch their favorite show. Eventually she gets so frustrated that she bounces up and plants her feet squarely on dad’s lap and playfully nips his arm.

This is obviously inappropriate behavior. It isn’t aggressive or dominant, just annoying!  Dad can choose two options to “punish” this inappropriate behavior. He will probably yell “owe!”  and stand up. Then he could grab the dog and smack her, this does not change the Bella’s behavior but it will probably make her more nervous around dad in the future. Or dad could take Bella over to the door and send her out of the room.

Bella now has to earn back her privilege of spending time with the family. A time-out that lasts for an hour won’t teach her anything, she may even start barking behind the door because she feels abandoned. Keep time-outs to less than 15 seconds.

The best method for a successful time-out is to shut the door, count to 3 slowly, and then crack the door open, ask her for a “Sit”. If she does not respond immediately, shut the door and count to 3 again. repeat this process until she is able to control herself enough to demonstrate a sit, then  allow her back in the room. For many dogs this short time out is plenty of time for them to get themselves under control. For many other dogs they are STILL excited and may go back to jumping around the room as soon as they get the opportunity. This time don’t wait until she has jumped up and nipped someone! Move her immediately back out the door and wait for another 3-5 seconds for her to control herself again.

Coaching a dog on how to behave appropriately in a human family environment is not always easy. You do need to be consistent and take the time to show them what you want, every single time. It can sometimes be a difficult, tiring, and frustrating task. But as every dog owner learns, its worth it! And if it gets too frustrating, then maybe you could use a time-out too occasionally. If you feel too frustrated and need a break, feel free to put yourself away for a little while until you can regain control. We all need time-outs sometimes!

Originally published in 1984, “Don’t Shoot the Dog!” became an instant must read for any trainer, educator, or coach. It outlines in plain easy to understand English, how learning works.

I have actually been trying to get a hold of a copy for the last 5 years with no luck until it was finally reprinted in 2008 and I miraculously found it at a book store in Paraparaumu!

If you are interested in why some training methods do or don’t work for dogs, children or even adults then you will find this book extremely interesting. I train primarily using positive reinforcement and the learning theory that goes along with that. All of my clients get an introduction to this kind of theory and learn the basics in order to train their dogs successfully at home, but if only I could get every single one of them to read this book it would make my life so much easier!

Karen Pryor outlines the 8 ways you can change ANY behavior in ANYONE.

1. “Shoot the Dog”. This method obviously solves your behavior issue but is not the most appealing way to go…and teaches the subject nothing.

2. Punishment. Pryor talks about how punishment does and doesn’t work to change behavior (turns out is doesn’t work that well).

3. Negative Reinforcement. Removing an unpleasant stimulus when you get the behavior you want. This method is used by many trainers whether they realize it or not. For example pulling a horse’s reins to the right makes the horse turn right, in order to avoid the uncomfortable pulling sensation from the bit.

4. Extinction. No longer reinforcing a behavior you don’t like. This is a REALLY hard one to implement unless you have an iron will.

5. Train and incompatible behavior. I love this one. It involves a lot of new habit forming in both you and your pet, but once in place it is very affective.

6. Put the Behavior on Cue.  A bit of reverse psychology here. Put the barking on cue then only reinforce the barks you want. The dog stops barking unless asked to! Very nice!

7. “Shape the Absence”. You start reinforcing every behavior that is not a behavior you don’t like. I do this a lot when first teaching clients about marker training.

8. Change the Motivation. You convince the dog to WANT to do what you want them to do. Everybody wins! This is the method most used by successful trainers.

After outlining these eight methods, Pryor goes on to show you how to implement them in many different real world situations. In this new edition of the book she also has added a chapter in clicker “marker” training. She discusses when and how to use this type of training most effectively and why it works so well.

Pryor really is one of the leaders in animal training and by writing this book in 1984 was incredibly  ahead of her time. The ideas that she spells out in “Don’t Shoot the Dog” have been literally world changing and if it is possible, even more relevant today than it was almost 30 years ago.

Dogs can learn the difference but they don’t know it automatically, we have to teach them. However, if we had to teach them each and every item they were not allowed to chew on that would take years! So here are three easy things you can do to prevent inappropriate chewing, and increase appropriate chewing!

1. Manage the Environment: Put away things you don’t want your dog to chew on. This may seem obvious, but really a dog can’t be expected to pick out his bone from a pile of kid’s toys on the floor. This also means a new dog or a puppy must be supervised especially when learning house rules to prevent mistakes. If mistakes are prevented, the dog never gets into the habit of chewing the TV remote in the first place!

2. Get Him Hooked on Food Stuffed Toys!: This part is easy, introduce your puppy/dog to a Kong or similar heavy rubber toy, stuffed with tasty treats. I use a mix of dry food, “Superior Chunky” dog roll, and small pieces of cheese! Sometimes I add boiled chicken breast or freeze dried liver. Give these toys to your dog whenever you leave him alone or whenever you want to be left alone for awhile! If you are concerned about weight, then use half his meal ration instead of treats.

3. Trading Up: In a dog’s world, if something is in your mouth it is yours. So if you haven’t trained a solid “Drop-it” cue don’t expect your dog to understand that he should give you his hard sought prize (TV remote excavated from the couch cushions) just because you asked for it. Without a good Drop-it cue you are only setting yourself up for a game of chase, which hardly solves your problem. So if you have waivered from the “supervision  at all times” rule, and your new dog just found your cell phone on a chair at perfect doggie-nose-level, then you are much better off pretending you don’t care about the cell phone, grab a dog biscuit, and offer a quick trade. Say “Drop-it” as he loosens his jaws to drop the phone and take the treat. Then don’t forget to PRAISE him! Praise is a powerful motivation to many dogs and the treat will only reinforce how wonderful it is to give you things.

When I am doing a first session with clients I usually start with introducing them to a clicker. A clicker is a small hand held noisemaker, much like you would find at kid’s parties. But for the purpose of training, it is used as a marker for behavior. A clicker is ideal for this purpose because it is a quick noise that is almost instantaneous and completely repeatable. That means you can easily teach the dog by learned association, that if they hear a click, they will get a treat.

Once the dog understands that a click will always get them a treat, you then teach them that they can demonstrate behaviors and make you click. In this way they become active in their own training and actually enjoy the learning process itself!

Because of this, clickers are used all over the world to teach a variety of different animals new or complicated behaviors.  When I worked with Big Cats we used clickers as a means of communicating to our feline friends that we liked what they were doing. This is especially important because with many large predators you can’t force them to do what you want, you have to make them want to do what you want! Frequently you are working behind a cage wall so even if you wanted to you couldn’t use physical cues to model the behavior you needed.

The same is true for dogs, if you can get them to want to do something, whether that is staying off the couch, going to the toilet on cue, or just shaking hands. You can show them how much fun it is to do the things you like! And lets be honest, if you don’t like something, you don’t do it, and if you do like something you do it even if someone doesn’t give you a cupcake afterwards.