Step 1 Introduction

You can introduce a new behavior to your dog’s repertoire a number of different ways. I prefer to help dogs figure out what I want by luring them into a new behavior, capturing the behavior with a clicker, or shaping the behavior. All of these methods help the dog figure out what they are doing right by providing feedback through rewards (treats work best for teaching new behaviors for most dogs).

Step 2 Generalization or “He did it perfectly at home why won’t he do it in class?!”

After your dog has worked out the complete behavior you want, you must help him realize that he can do that behavior anytime, anywhere, and whenever you cue it. This surprises most people. They tend to think that once their dog has demonstrated a perfect recall once, he should be able to repeat that at any time. It would be great if this were the case, but sadly it isn’t. It takes awhile for dogs to realize which cues are important,  and it takes practice to be able to perform the cue with distractions or in new locations.  So after you have introduced a behavior you must generalize it. This means practice in many different situations, with different people, facing different directions, on different sides of your body, at different times of day, in different locations, inside, in the yard, at the park etc… Generalization is what you will spend MOST of your dog training time on.

The best way to generalize a new behavior is to raise your criteria for that behavior in VERY small steps, but raise it quickly. If the recall is the behavior you want, then start it from only 1 meter away. When he has done 8 perfect 1 meter recalls, ask for a 2 meter recall! If he can’t do 2 meters try 1.5 meters. Each session you practice, start two levels below where you think he can be successful then quickly work your way back up, then encourage him to do just a little bit more during each practice.  But remember it takes PRACTICE! The prefect recall is not learned in a single session.

Step 3 Maintenance

Occasionally you need to remind your dog that he can still do the behavior. If he goes for a long period of time without practice he will “forget”. If your dog has forgotten a behaviour you will have to start all over again at introduction. The good news is that  he should learn it much faster the second time around!

Take into account all of the body language we use all the time to communicate with each other, add in all the verbal words we use, and then add facial expression and tones of voice. Is it any wonder dogs get so confused by what we are trying to teach them?

Many people try to give their dog “hints” or encourage them by repeating cue words or trying to show their hand signals over and over again. All of this information gets processed by the dog’s animal brain as a load of equally important information. It takes a long time for most dogs to sort out the signals that are important vs. the ones they can safely ignore.

In most cases a dog will realize the predominant signal and associate that with the correct behavior to demonstrate. They may even associate the word with that behavior as well. But those dogs will never be as precise or self confident in their cued behavior as a dog who has been trained by someone who is able to keep their body language silent and their verbal cues 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!

This is one of the most important books on dogs I have ever read. When I decided to commit myself to becoming a really excellent dog trainer and behaviourist, Suzanne Clothier really clarified for me what kind of trainer I wanted to become.

As I first started reading this book I initially thought, uh-oh this might be a little too touchy-feely for me, just a little too soft hearted. I have never felt that you needed to be mean to be a good trainer, but I also had a strong influence (growing up in the time of dominance theory) that you had to be extremely firm and assertive when working with dogs.

While reading “Bones” I realized I had been much too focused on what to do if the dog “got away with something”, instead of why the dog might be trying to get away! Suzanne talks a lot about the importance of trust in the relationship with your dog and that has come to be a very important part of how I teach people to communicate and build the bond between them and their companion.

If you have ever longed for that complete understanding, or that ability to communicate that is almost supernatural some people seem to have with their dogs, then this is absolutely the book you need to read. It is a real eye opener into the reasons why some relationships work and others don’t. Suzanne talks about not just being your dog’s leader, but being their trusted, benevolent leader who they would do absolutely anything for.

Basically anyone who owns a dog or is thinking of owning a dog would benefit so much from the ideas presented in this book. If you are a dog trainer yourself and haven’t read it, then do, you will have so much fun!

Suzanne Clothier’s Website

And through my work with a variety of Wild and exotic creature I came to realize one fundamental idea about training any of these animals, and if you could do this well, you would be a fantastic animal trainer. And that one thing is to “think like the animal”, to try to see life from their point of view rather than your own.

From the Grizzlies at Washington State University the Lions at the Big Cat Sanctuary, the Slow Loris Primates at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, or your family dog, they all have this one thing in common. If you can see the world from their eyes and understand what is important to them, you can get them to do anything you need.

Tamar asserts her methods are a “Playful, nonaggressive way to teach your dog good behavior”. Indeed they are. She feels it is never OK to use abuse or violence to teach your dog good behavior. Too back this assertion up, many studies have shown that using games and encouragement to teach proper behavior works better than violence and discouragement for adults, children and dogs! This being said many of her methods are based on dominance theory she has picked up from watching desert wolves in the wild. Unfortunately having no actual behavioral observation training, she makes some assumptions about what she saw that are faulty if not dangerous. She also misuses some key behavioral definitions that make her look more uneducated than she probably is. As an example she talks about teaching dogs “English” rather than teaching dogs  word association. To her credit she also really drives home the point of how to teach your dog word association “learning English” rather than just saying “good girl, or good boy” you can actually give the dog feedback by saying “Good Sit or Good Down”.

She also uses the idea of domesticating your dog with coaching,  although dogs have been domesticated for thousands of years, so I can only assume she means teaching your dog manners. These misuses of terminology aside she has obviously had much success with her training methods and coaching humans in alternatives to physical violence can only be a good thing!

I think my biggest criticism of this book is the pathetically blatant name dropping of her LA clients.

My favorite thing about this book is her idea of showing your dog a range of emotions, make sure he knows when you are happy with his behavior and when you are disappointed. Too many people forget to praise the good behavior and overreact to the bad behavior which doesn’t help the dog to actually learn anything!

Tamar Geller’s Website