Puppy Training

Puppy training- top tips - welcome

Wed, 17 Jun 2020 13:46:59 GMT

Dog training has changed. The old 'domination' method where the owner proves he is boss by dominating the dog, has thankfully gone. In its place is a more reasoned approach where the dog learns by cause and effect: you reward a positive behaviour and the dog wants to repeat it.

Training a puppy is a game of consequences. Modern training methods use the knowledge of how a dog's mind works, whereas traditional training relies on the outdated theory of pack dominance.

Dominate or Reward?

Before discussing reward-based training, let's clear up a few things. Older training methods assume modern dogs are descended from a pack animal, the wolf, and therefore a dog is most obedient when answering to the pack leader (you!)

However, this idea is flawed. Firstly, most dogs are so far removed from their wolf ancestors that this analogy is equivalent to comparing humans to apes. Secondly, research has shown wolf packs behave much more like a family, than previously thought. They cooperate with one another, share resources, and work together rather than have a strict hierarchy.

In recent years it has become obvious that puppies (and indeed dogs) learn through a game of consequences, where an action followed by a good outcome, is more likely to be repeated.

Puppy training- How puppies learn-Introduction

Wed, 17 Jun 2020 13:46:58 GMT

To understand reward-based training, it helps to understand a puppy's mind at work.

A puppy learns about the world in order to understand which actions benefit him and which are potentially dangerous. In his mind, a puppy divides experiences into three groups:

Good

Bad

Indifferent

Examples of what these actions are and the implication is shown in the table below.

Action Example Consequence

Good Puppy urinates in the garden and gets a big fuss from his owner The outcome was great so he works hard to repeat it and get a similar reward

Bad Puppy disturbs a bee and gets stung on the nose His life just got worse so he avoids disturbing bees in future

Indifferent He barks during the night but no one came He expended effort for no reward, so he doesn't bother to bark when alone in future

Now, there might be those who then assume that a punishment (the bee sting) is a good way of teaching a dog NOT to do something. Again, this idea is flawed for the following reasons.

Punishment doesn't work because:

It decreases the puppy's desire to be near the owner

Even when the punishment happens simultaneously with the bad behaviour, the dog does not link the punishment to the bad behaviour, but to the punisher (you). In the above example, the punishment came direct from the bee, not an intermediary (e.g. Puppy disturbs a bee, you smack the puppy, puppy is fearful of you)

Most punishments happen after the event, which confuses the puppy, who learns to fear the punisher

The dog's tolerance of punishment rises with each chastisement, so you end up with an escalating scale of punishment to achieve the same effect (and reinforce his wariness of you).

Influencing Future Behaviour

To use reward-based training, let's look some more at how dogs learn. In his quest to find what actions benefit him and which are unsafe, a dog learns through consequences. Depending on what the consequence is, he either repeats the action or forgets about it.

Experience Outcome in the Puppy's Mind Result

Puppy rewarded for urinating outside Good He repeats the action

Puppy barks in the night and is ignored Bad (the behaviour went unnoticed) There is no point repeating the action

Puppy is stung by a bee Bad (it was painful) He avoids repeating the action (by avoiding bees)

This innocent looking table actually carries huge significance. It not only means that a puppy works hard to illicit a reward, but that an action unrewarded is less likely to be repeated.

Puppy training- top tips part 1- Reward based training

Wed, 17 Jun 2020 13:46:53 GMT

Let's look at examples of the wrong and right way to act.

Let's look at examples of the wrong and right way to act.

A) The puppy jumps up at a stranger. You tell the puppy off. Right or wrong?

Wrong!

You have rewarded the puppy with your attention (even though you were cross). This means two possible outcomes

1) The puppy repeats the behaviour to get your attention, or

2) The puppy becomes wary of you. Either way, it's not a great way to stop him jumping up

B) The puppy jumps up at a stranger. You ignore the puppy. Right or wrong?

Better!

As long as the stranger does not reward the puppy with a fuss, ignoring the behaviour means there is no advantage to the puppy. If this behaviour is repeatedly ignored he will eventually drop it as not worthwhile.

C) The puppy jumps up at a stranger. You ignore the puppy. Then you distract him and ask him to sit, and reward the sit with a treat. Right or wrong?

Right!

By replacing the bad behaviour with one you can reward (sitting) he sees there is benefit in sitting (not jumping up) when approached by a stranger.

Reward based training

Key to the success of reward-based training are two things: finding the dog's favourite reward and building unpredictability into how often he gets the reward.

Favorite Rewards

Just as one person's favourite snack is chocolate and another's popcorn, dogs like different things. Indeed, some dogs are not food motivated but instead will do anything to chase a ball or be fussed over.

Most puppies under the age of 12 weeks crave attention, which gives you time to work out what else motivates him. Try out different foods such as chicken, liver cake, cheese, kibble – or anything you can think of that is safe for a dog to eat (no chocolate, grapes, or raisins – these are toxic to dogs). Also, watch his reaction to a game of tug, chase, or a fuss. You never know, he might prefer adoration to food!

Unpredictability

First build the association between the treat and a behaviour. However, a reward given every time becomes undervalued. It's too predictable, and he stops making the effort. Once he's cottoned onto the link, do NOT give the reward every time – make him work for it.

If this sounds odd, consider how a wild dog does not give up hunting rabbits just because he failed the first time. The reward is worthwhile so he perseveres. The same with a puppy. Once he understands he gets a reward at some point the unpredictable nature of the reward makes him double his efforts to please.