Dog Behavior and Discrimination how come my dog listens to my husband but not me

16.55 in and, behavior, but, come, discrimination, Dog, how, husband, listens, me, my, not, to

I know, nowadays the word "discrimination" can be a negative thing. As socially conscious humans were not supposed to discriminate - at least when were talking about certain human characteristics. But trust me, we discriminate all the time - and its a good thing, as youll see below. How does discrimination relate to dog training? First a general definition of discrimination: 

• the recognition and understanding of the difference between one thing and another: discrimination between right and wrong | young children have difficulties in making fine discriminations.
• the ability to distinguish between different stimuli : [as adj. ] discrimination learning.

With consistency, and precise timing, we can actively teach dogs to discriminate. Check out the video of me and Poncho the dog. Im teaching him to discriminate when to jump through my legs. Turning my right leg out is the cue for him to jump through. Turning my left leg out, he isnt supposed to. He got his reward for staying put. 

Poncho learned pretty quickly that: right leg turned out = jump through = gets rewarded. Left leg turned out = stay = gets rewarded. If he didnt jump when he was supposed to, or jumped when I didnt want him to, then Id give him a "too bad", which is the cue for "no reward". The punishment is he doesnt get a food reward, and he has to wait to try again. 

Another human world example:

• Green light = "go", Red light = Stop, Yellow light = "slow down in preparation of stopping" (although some folks define the yellow as "speed up and get through the intersection"). 

In this example we, as humans, discriminate between the different colors of the traffic signal, and based on what weve learned, we know what to do for each one. I dont know about you, but when I was a child, I quickly learned which parent to go to for what, and when to ask. This is example of "discriminative learning".

As a certified pet dog trainer, I often hear comments or get questions, either from my manners class students or my Noozhawk advice column about "Why does a dog do one thing for one person and not another? Why does my dog pull on leash with me, but not my spouse?" Well, the simple explanation is: One person is more consistent with teaching and rewarding what they want and/or punishing out what they dont want. In a case like this, the dog in question has been able to discriminate which parent to go to for what! 

Dogs, just like small children, dont have the mental capacity to distinguish between right and wrong. They arent born with the section of the brain that is wired for it, and they never really develop it. However, they are very good at differentiating between safe and dangerous. Along with discriminating between safe or dangerous stimuli, they are masters at discriminating between finite cues - provided passively or actively. For example:

• Passive cue: sneakers = going for walkies, dress shoes = dog stays home while human goes to work. 
• Active cue: human places specific blanket (environmental cue) on couch = dog gets to hang out on couch. No blanky on couch, doggy isnt allowed on couch.

So, if your dog is behaving differently for you than they are for someone else, ask yourself: 

• What am I rewarding or not rewarding my dog for?
• Am I being consistent?
• What cues am I giving my dog?
  

Then, once youve answered yourself, you can then fix the problem, if there is one. 

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Positively rewarding for me!

09.12 in Dog, for, me, positively, rewarding

Wow! Talk about rewarding... As you probably already know, I LOVE MY JOB! Im so passionate about being a dog trainer and behavior counselor! Last Sunday was the start of my new round of Manners Classes... I offer both Puppy and Adult dogs and their families. Sunday was the orientation, so I combined both groups...and what a great group it was!!! There was a total of fourteen families that attended! Everyone asked great questions, participated in answering my questions... and laughed at my jokes (thats always appreciated)... I find this to be so rewarding...just like the methods I teach you to teach your dogs to get the behaviors you want! I cant wait to see all the doggies this Sunday!


If you are interested in classes, or other services I offer, please contact me. Id love to hear from you...

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Changing behavior Who me

09.41 in behavior, changing, Dog, me, who

behavior modification |noun
the alteration of behavioral patterns through the use of such learning techniques as biofeedback and positive or negative reinforcement.

Why does training your dog have to be such a difficult process? Why why why? Hmmm, well, it doesn’t really. I think as humans we just make it as such...that is our innate behavior, no? ~ Let’s see. Behavior = the way in which one acts or conducts oneself. Just being alive is performing a behavior right? Sleeping in front of the TV is a “behavior”. Okay, that’s a simple one... It’s the whole “modification” process that sends us into a tizzy. After all, if we want to change someone else’s behavior we have to start with changing our own... Yikes! That’s too much work! Nah, it really doesn’t have to be...you just need a plan. Once you have a plan, consisting of a just a few small steps that you can fit into everyday life, then it too becomes part of your regular schedule... And therefore, a simple approach to reaching your goals...

Just go and experiment yourself... Pick one thing you love your dog doing. Then, be aware of when your dog is performing this behavior, and make sure you reward him or her with something that motivate them. Either a “treat”, praise, petting, playing a game. Something they find rewarding... This tells them “thank you”, “I appreciate that”. After all, don’t we all appreciate someone appreciating us.

Simple yes? Good. See? You’ve already modified your own behavior. Now, it’s time to go modify your dogs.

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Why Wont My Dog Listen to Me

08.47 in dog, listen, me, my, to, why, wont

One of a dog owner’s greatest frustrations can be a dog that doesn’t listen to what they are told to do.  You may feel that you spend an endless amount of time calling your dog into the house, trying to keep them from jumping, or attempting to get their attention when you are out for a walk.  Or maybe there are simply times you feel your dog has very selective hearing.

All dogs can be good listeners, but they need the proper guidance and relationship with their owners to achieve this.  If your dog doesn’t listen to you, one of the following is probably the reason.

You aren’t as much fun as whatever your dog is doing.  Many of the occasions when our dogs tune us out are simply because there is something more interesting to do.  If you are trying to call your dog in from the backyard and aren’t getting any response, your dog has probably learned that there is a greater reward in ignoring you – more squirrels to chase, more time to smell the grass, etc.  Plenty of dogs listen well at home, but when they are taken out, to the park or into town, they quickly stop listening to even the simplest commands.  In any of these situations, getting upset or frustrated won’t make your dog any more likely to pay attention.  The only way to get your dog’s attention is to become more interesting than whatever they are currently doing.  Make yourself fun, make yourself interesting, and make yourself exciting!

Fear of punishment.  If you correct your dog for something, you should be confident that you are addressing a behavior that you do not want repeated, and that your dog will associate the correction with that exact behavior, not something else.  For example, if your dog gets out the front door and leads you on an hour long chase through the neighborhood, chances are by the time you catch up to him you will be quite frustrated, if not outright angry.  However, if you punish your dog for finally returning home (or merely allowing themselves to be caught), your dog will associate that correction with the last action they took – coming back.  Because dogs have relatively short attention spans, they cannot make the connection between what you are frustrated with (the bolt out the door that happened an hour ago) and the punishment they are receiving now.  That means that if you correct him when he comes back, next time he won’t want to come when you call him.  Using positive methods instead of punishment based training will ensure you never make a mistake like this.

Your dog hasn’t been formally trained.  Many owners expect their dogs to respond to commands that haven’t ever been officially trained.  You may think your dog knows how to do something, but they may in fact have only gotten lucky in responding properly.  Or maybe they do have a little understanding of what you are asking, but don’t know well enough to be able to perform around distractions, when they are tired or bored or in a different situation.  Our dogs genuinely want to do the right thing, but we need to give them the tools.  If you feel your dog isn’t listening because she’s just being difficult or stubborn, consider that maybe she just doesn’t get it.  The easiest way to fix this problem is to do some formal training: go to a class, get a private lesson from a professional trainer or find a good book.  Educate yourself so you know the right way to teach your dog.

You’re speaking the wrong language – English!  Let’s face it; we are a very ego-centric species.  Without even knowing it we often expect our dogs to act the way we would.  It’s the only way most of us know how to behave.  But when we expect our dogs to understand us or act like us, we are usually asking too much.  If you’ve ever thought of your dog as your child, talked in complete sentences and sort of expected an answer, or felt like your dog was holding a grudge against you, you’re guilty.  Don’t worry – it happens to the best of us.  However, if your dog seems to be ignoring you, maybe it’s just a “language barrier” of sorts.  You speak English and she speaks canine.  And it’s not just about interpreting a bark.  Dogs are very tuned into body language.  They communicate mostly through posture, movement, eye contact…all without a single spoken word.  The next time your dog doesn’t listen to you, consider if she really understands the question.

If your dog is not listening, regardless of why, the best solution may be found through a professional dog trainer.  Good dog trainers don’t just know how to get a dog to sit, they can interpret relationships between dogs and owners and help you learn how to improve them.  That leads to a happy ending for both you and your dog, and lots more listening!

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Dont Jump on My Guests or Me!

12.00 in Dog, dont, guests, jump, me, my, on, or

Teaching your dog not to jump up is about being consistent. I regularly see people telling their dogs to get off or down - the main problem is that this gives the dog attention every-time they jump - reinforcing the behaviour. Ignoring jumping can be really difficult as jumping up often hurts or can really knock the person the dog is jumping at.

DID YOU KNOW? - If you randomly reward a behaviour it becomes stronger than if you reward it all the time. Thats why jumping up, counter surfing and begging are so hard to break ... someone in the dogs life is sometimes rewarding the behaviour. Thus randomly rewarding it - making it stronger still.

In this Video Emily Larlham shows you how to train the dog not to jump in the first place by rewarding the dog quickly and regularly for having four feet on the floor. She also puts the treat on the floor to stop the dog looking up for the reward.

Pay attention to the need to reward BEFORE the dog has jumped. This means you always need to be prepared whist teaching it, have treats ready in places around the house, by the front door inside and out, and always on your person when out and about. Remember keep some rewards up occasionally once trained (thus randomly rewarding this new feet on the floor behaviour, making it stronger!!).

When you dont have time or effort to train the dog dont allow them to jump at people by having them on the lead and standing far enough away your dog cannot make contact with people should he jump. Make sure people do not speak to him if he is leaping about on the lead. You can also put him in his crate or another room or garden if you have people round and you dont feel like training him the whole time. Sometimes you will also have guests of a certain type and it is not appropriate to train the dog with them there.

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Stupid Cheerful That’s me

03.02 in cheerful, Dog, me, stupid, that’s

One of the many things my parents taught me was the old adage “If you have nothing nice to say about someone, don’t say anything at all.” They also raised me to focus on the better qualities of a person, and of course, don’t judge a book by its cover...especially when the media is involved. I often keep this in mind when I’m asked what I think about a certain specific well-known dog trainer...someone very popular, and who has a strong following... Whether it be a comparison (always meant as a compliment), or someone just asking my general opinion, I like to remain neutral and PC whenever I can. 

First of all, I’ve never met this person face to face. I’ve read their book (so I can be well informed if a discussion of some sort should arise) - Plus, I’ve only seen this person portrayed in contexts where the media has had a hand in it... Editing, or interviewing etc... I can say this though, just from what I’ve witnessed: 

• 1) we practice different methods (there’s more than one way to make a meat loaf, or in this case train a dog) 
• 2) I don’t need to have a disclaimer before any of my training programs - I encourage people to try my techniques and training steps at home 
• 3) exercise for our pets is deficient in this country - partly because of our judicial society. (Not enough public places for off-leash in my opinion) 
• 4) I use methods based on science and data, that work in ways that allow the animal to think for themselves, and not through intimidation or fear. 

So, when someone says “Oh, you’re like the _____” or “What do you think of the _____?” - I smile, think of how my mom and dad raised me, and say either “Thank you (?)” or “Well, I’ve never met the person, but I practice different methods...” then proceed to explain further if asked, or direct them to my website... When in doubt, I find it’s better to be “stupid and cheerful” (thank you Dr. Joy) than to apply positive punishment.

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