Dog Training advice by Aidan of Positive Petzine

All puppies will bite and chew your body parts or clothing. It is just what puppies do. Their sharp, needle-like teeth can cause quite a lot of pain, and clothing can easily be damaged. It makes sense that we want to teach puppy that this is unacceptable as quickly as possible. What's more, if puppies are allowed to continue this behavior, by the time they are adolescents or adults they could cause some serious damage!

That's not to say that having a puppy's mouth on you is necessarily a 'bad' thing. Puppies need to learn what we call 'bite inhibition', which is a soft, inhibited bite. Why? All dogs will bite under certain circumstances, particularly if taken by surprise. The dog that learns bite inhibition can bite without causing any real damage.

If you have read my earlier article "Secrets of Dog Training Professionals - Operant Conditioning" then you will be familiar with the term 'Negative Punishment'. Sounds awful, doesn't it? But don't worry, Negative Punishment simply means that behavior is decreased because we took something away as a consequence of that behavior.

A 'time out' is a Negative Punisher when the target behavior is decreased. Time outs are one of the most humane and pet-friendly punishments we can use, when used with thought and care.

Puppies bite at our hands and clothing because that is the way that puppies like to play. It is fun, and they enjoy our attention. They particularly like it if we try to fight them off of us. Have you ever seen two or more puppies playing? They like to fight each other with their mouths and paws.

Normally, other puppies teach our puppy not to bite too hard by squealing in pain. When we take our puppy from the litter, these other puppies aren't around to teach proper bite inhibition any more. Some people advise trying to emulate a 'puppy squeal' to discourage biting too hard.

I don't know why, but people just don't seem to be very convincing with their squeals, so I don't recommend it as a training technique. What's more, some puppies seem to enjoy it when their human squeals and will get more excited, resulting in more biting. This is obviously not what we want puppy to do! If you can squeal and your puppy immediately stops biting, then this is an acceptable technique. Monitor the behavior long-term, though, to make sure biting too hard is decreasing.

A different, yet highly effective aproach is to say 'ouch' in a neutral tone of voice (not loud, not high-pitched and not angry) then walk out of the room, shutting the door behind you for 30 seconds. This marks the exact behavior you are trying to punish, then gives a time-out as a consequence.

It may take puppy a little while to figure out the link between his biting and the time-out, but the marker will make it clearer. It is important to say 'ouch' in a neutral tone of voice, and say it exactly at the moment that puppy bites too hard.

Notice that I said "exactly at the moment that puppy bites too hard"? We don't want to discourage young puppies from biting altogether, this would be bite prohibition. We want to teach puppies to inhibit their bite.

Time-outs should not be excessive. A long time-out can be stressful and lead to other unwanted behaviors. 30 seconds is more than enough and seems to be quite effective. Don't look back at puppy or try to push puppy away when you say 'ouch'. Simply get up and leave, closing the door behind you.

If you have family or friends in the room then it might be easier to lead puppy out of the room and shut him out for his time-out. However, this doesn't seem to be as effective to me.

Remember, it is only punishment if the behavior decreases. Continuing with a punishment which is unclear or ineffective is a waste of time and borders on abuse (although, it would be hard to do damage with a 30 second time-out). Consider your timing, consistency and whether or not there is anyone else in puppy's life who is not following through with this protocol consistently. It is important that you explain the rules to anyone who plays with puppy.

If all else fails, seek professional advice. Most vet clinics are now offering puppy kinder classes using humane and pet-friendly techniques.

300 Peck - A Simple Method For Increasing Distance or Duration

"300 Peck" was a method that came from training pigeons to peck 300
times in the lab, via horse-training and was adapted successfully for
dog training by a few people. My favourite variation comes courtesy of
Sue Ailsby (http://www.dragonflyllama.com).

When we want to increase distance or duration, we need to find a way to
increase distance or duration while still setting our dogs up to
succeed at least 80% of the time.

Let's say we want our dog to "sit-stay" for 30 seconds. If we asked
our dog to "sit" for 30 seconds without any prior training, then he
would almost certainly fail within about 2 seconds and we would have
nothing to reinforce. Nothing would be learned except that "stay" is
meaningless.

Another example might be sending our dog around a pole 10' away. If we
sent our dog around the pole 10' away with no prior training, chances
are our dog would either sit there with a blank expression, or find
something else to do.

"300 Peck" helps us bridge those gaps in a manner which is easy for us
to implement.

Let's use the "sit-stay" as an example. We'll assume our dog has
already been trained to "sit" on cue. So we ask our dog to "sit". Then
we count silently in our head "1-alligator", if our dog is still
sitting, then we click and treat.

Then we ask our dog to "sit" again, as he probably got up when we
clicked (which is fine).

Then we count silently in our head "1-alligator, 2-alligator", if he is
still sitting, click and treat.

The next trial is "1-alligator, 2-alligator, 3-alligator", if he is
still sitting, click and treat. If not, then ask your dog to "sit",
and count "1-alligator". If he is still sitting, click and treat.

The basic rule is that on each trial we increase the count by 1, if our
dog succeeds we click and treat. If our dog fails, we simplt restart
the count from 1.

A typical session might look like this:
sit - 1, click and treat
sit - 1,2, click and treat
sit - 1,2,3, click and treat
sit - 1,2,3,4, click and treat
sit - 1,2,3,4,5 - fail
sit - 1, click and treat
sit - 1,2, click and treat
sit - 1,2,3, click and treat
sit - 1,2,3,4, click and treat
sit - 1,2,3,4,5, click and treat
sit - 1,2,3,4,5,6, click and treat
sit - 1,2,3,4 - fail
sit - 1, click and treat
sit - 1,2, click and treat
etc...

Another practical example can be found in Positive Petzine message #28 -
"Turning the Tables - Turning Your Dogs Begging at the Table Into an
Asset". In that article we taught our dogs to lie down nicely beside
the dinner table while we ate our meal. You will notice that this is a
long duration behaviour.

Imagine you want your dog to walk on a nice loose leash. You can teach
this literally step-by-step using the "300 Peck" method. 1 step, click
and treat. 1 step, 2 steps, click and treat; etc

Although it is not obvious, in practice, "300 Peck" enables us to
increase our criteria with greater than 80% success rate overall - and
we don't even have to think too hard about it! We just have to
remember what the last count was and add 1 if we clicked and treated.

This method also works by default to set the exact right amount of
difficulty in any given situation. Sometimes there are distractions
which we don't even notice, but our dogs do. "300 Peck" takes the
guess-work out of setting appropriate criteria for the situation and
always pushes for the maximum performance. To quote the oft-repeated
phrase from 'help wanted' ads - no experience necessary!

With the warm weather now, many of us will be spending time with our dogs outside. This can lead to health problems such as parvo, tapeworm, or even blindness if the dog eats the feces of other animals. But training the dog to avoid at-risk behaviors, such as eating feces of other animals can go a long way to keeping our dogs healthy and safe. So Kosmar wanted to know what we can do to help our dogs live healther lives. Expert trainer and writer Aidain Bindoff shares some great training tips. Thanks, Aidan!

Kosmar: Now that spring is here, people will be traveling and spending time outside
with their dogs. What behaviors should dog owners look for that could result in
health problems for the dog?

AB: In my experience with my own dogs, a good 'leave it' has been very
important to stop them eating things which could harm them. This is
taught using "Doggy Zen" - you hold a treat in your closed fist and
present to your dog. Most dogs will lick, nose or paw at your hand. At
the instant they stop, you open your hand and drop the treat.

When your dog gets really good at this, you can put the treat on a low
stool or coffee table. Ask your dog to 'leave it', until you give the
go ahead "good dog!". Be ready to cover the treat with your hand if he
goes for the treat before you give the go ahead.

Kosmar: What common mistakes do dog owners make when trying to train their dogs out of
these behaviors?

AB: By far the biggest problem is in not being proactive. If you wait until
your dog goes to eat something nasty and try to punish them, it's too
late. If you stay ahead of the game you can stay positive, and avoid
all sorts of problems that might crop up.

Kosmar: What would you tell someone with the free-spirited dog that may be a bit more
difficult to train? Perhaps a dog that eats the sofa cushions, for example.

AB: Put the cushions away and invest in a crate for when you can't supervise.

THEN, work on the cause of the problem. Exercise, mental challenges,
and training. Hide treats, teach your dog to find your missing car keys
- that sort of thing. These free-spirited dogs are just victims of
circumstance, there is nothing inherently "wrong" with them. They're
just living in a world they weren't bred or designed to live in.

You could do what the "Dog Whisperer" does and exercise them for 4 hours
each and every day, or you could get smart and set your dog mental
challenges which pay a 3:1 dividend on the time you spend. Some of
these challenges can take just a few seconds to set up and occupy your
dog for half an hour or more while you do other things. That could be a
30:1 dividend on your time!

Kosmar: Many of Kosmar's customers are breeders or animal rescue workers. Are there
any special difficulties when training multiple animals in the same household?
For example, how can someone with multiple animals keep the free-spirited ones
from hindering the training and obedience of the more compliant dogs? Is there a
way to keep the dogs influencing each other in the right direction?

AB: While training new things, keeping distractions to a minimum is of
paramount importance. That means training each dog individually. You
can get a lot of training done in the bathroom or kitchen with the door
shut.

If they are fosters, it probably doesn't go beyond this. If you own the
dogs you can work up to training the dogs to stay on a mat while you
work with one of them.

Thanks for your great questions, Jana. If anyone is interested in the
sort of things I have talked about today, come along to
http://positivepetzine.com to find out more. I've just put a up a
complimentary e-course in "Positive Dog Training for Real Results", and
a questionnaire for people with a barking dog problem. At the end of
the questionnaire you get sent a complimentary e-course with tips for
your particular barking dog problem, personalised for you and your dog.

Written by Aidan Bindoff, Editor of http://www.PositivePetzine.com - your helpful online resource for positive dog training and behavior information.

The World's Simplest Free Dog Toy

I've long since thrown out our dog food bowls, I feed mostly raw anyway. But after reading BrainWork for Smart Dogs I've decided never to just give my dogs a free meal ever again.

Yesterday I poured two cups of premium dry food (not one of the recall list foods) into an empty 2 litre plastic milk bottle with the lid off (see safety tip in comments). Sabella had a great time flipping it, punching it, kicking it, shaking it - whatever she could to make the food spill out.

We went out with Django for 3 hours. When we got home there was still about half a cup of food left, which she had fun getting out when we returned from our evening walk.

Such a simple idea, and so beneficial. Total investment of my time = 30 seconds. Total additional cost $0.00 Total 'active' time for Sabella, maybe an hour all up. That means I got a 120:1 dividend on my time.

The "Dog Whisperer" recommends up to 4 hours of exercise a day for your dog. I don't have 4 hours, I can afford 1.5 at the most, and that's if I make up for lost time on the weekends. If I use my brain, I can reduce my total input to about 2 minutes to give Sabella 4 hours of meaningful activity.

Not that I would want to reduce my time spent doing meaningful activities with my dogs to 2 minutes, but if I'm pushed for time it's nice to know that my dogs don't have to suffer.

Written by Aidan Bindoff, Editor of http://www.PositivePetzine.com - your helpful online resource for positive dog training and behavior information.

My Dog Actually Prefers to Work for Food Than To Get Free Food

Following on from my blog entry The World's Simplest Free Dog Toy, my wife said she was pouring the food into the empty milk bottle outside, spilling food onto the ground, and Sabella ignored the food on the ground - waiting for the toy!

So what does a dog really want most? Free food, or food that has to be worked for?

Of course, most dogs will take the free food if it's offered. But in offering free food we deny our dogs the chance to use their intelligence and natural talents for a purpose. What a waste! It's not just a waste of an opportunity, but as Mogens Eliason says - "a dog's mind is a terrible thing to waste", and that's what eventually happens if we don't allow our dogs to work every day in some small way.

I've just been looking at the questionnaire results for the Barking Dog Questionnaire and e-course. Two types of barking overwhelmingly stand-out, what I call "Territorial" barking and "Attention and Boredom" barking.

That these two types of barking problem are the most common does not surprise me. Most dogs are bored, and will find ways to overcome their boredom - often this will manifest as something we call a "behavior problem", such as excessive barking.

A dog's mind is not only a terrible thing to waste, but it turns into a pain in the proverbial.

Of course, not all dogs develop problem behaviors through boredom. Some of them just become boring, it's like that little spark they had as puppies just dies.

Have you ever wondered how really good dog trainers come up with the techniques they use to solve behaviour problems in dogs such as excessive barking, destructive chewing, toileting in the house and jumping up on visitors? Or how top dog trainers come up with ways to train dogs in top obedience and working competitions? Apart from a few “naturals”, most really good dog trainers have a very good understanding of how dogs learn. They have adapted theory from the world of behavioural science and turned that knowledge into real-life practical skills for training dogs. This article explains in plain English some of the science and theory behind dog training, these really are secrets of the dog training professionals!

Operant Conditioning is the term that scientists use to describe what dog trainers call “training with consequences”. That is, any training that involves a consequence that either reinforces or punishes behavior. There are 4 possible consequence types used in Operant Conditioning, and 1 non-consequence. These are:

1. Positive Reinforcement: when we give a reward and the behaviour increases or is maintained as a result, we call this positive reinforcement (+R). e.g dog sits when asked, we give a treat. Dog learns to sit when asked in future.

2. Negative Reinforcement: when we take something unpleasant away and the behaviour increases or is maintained as a result, we call this negative reinforcement (-R). e.g we ask dog to sit, pulling up on collar, dog sits, we release pressure from the collar. Dog learns to sit when asked in future.

3. Positive Punishment: when we do something unpleasant and the behaviour is decreased or eliminated as a result, we call this positive punishment (+P). e.g dog goes to investigate kitchen bench for food, we make a sharp noise. Dog learns not to investigate kitchen benches for food in future.

4. Negative Punishment: when we take away something the dog wants or enjoys and the behaviour is decreased or eliminated as a result, we call this negative punishment (-P). e.g dog plays too roughly with another more timid dog, we leash rough dog and remove the opportunity to play. Dog learns not to play too roughly in future.

5. Extinction: when behaviour is no longer reinforced and it eventually goes away, we call this extinction. e.g dog is used to being allowed outside when he whines at the door, but is suddenly no longer allowed out when he whines. Dog learns not to whine at the door. Extinction sometimes makes the target behaviour worse before it gets better, sometimes significantly. This is known as an “extinction burst” and is usually a sign that the behaviour is about to diminish rapidly. In the current example, the dog might whine more often, more loudly, and for longer periods before learning that whining doesn’t work for him any more.

Let’s examine the terms more closely. Apart from extinction, you will notice four words that can be used in four different combinations. These are “positive”, “negative”, “reinforcement” and “punishment” and they are technical terms that scientists use when discussing Operant Conditioning.

“Positive” means to add something. We add the reward, or add the punisher. By contrast, “Negative” means to take something away. We take away the reward, or take away the unpleasant stimulus.

“Reinforcement” is when we increase or maintain behaviour. The behaviour happens more often, more intensely, for longer periods, or it continues to happen without reducing in frequency, intensity or duration. By contrast, “Punishment” is when we decrease or eliminate behaviour using consequence. We reduce the frequency, intensity or duration of the behaviour.

A common mistake is to assume that we have reinforced or punished behaviour when in fact in future we discover that the behaviour has not actually been changed! Many dog trainers believe that praise is an effective reinforcer. It may be, for some dogs in some circumstances. The truth is we don’t know unless we see the behaviour that earned the praise increase or keep occurring in the future. The same applies to punishment. Yelling at a dog might stop it from going through your rubbish bin while you are there, but does it stop your dog going through the rubbish bin while you’re not there? Probably not. A more effective approach is to use a more secure rubbish bin, or put the rubbish bin in a place which is inaccessible to the dog.

For more information, please visit www.groups.yahoo.com/group/traininglevels/ for a Free program and e-book that shows you how to train your own dog, step-by-step, with the help of thousands of others using the very same program to train their own dogs.

Aidan Bindoff is Editor of http://www.PositivePetzine.com, a free ezine for people training their own dogs. Each edition has easy to use training advice based on positive reinforcement methods. Subscribers have access to a large archive of back-issues they can consult for just about any behavior or behavior problem.

Dominance

Leadership Qualities Dogs Respect

What qualities do dogs look for in their leaders? Adopt these 3 simple qualities to turn your dog's behavior around almost literally overnight!

It probably won't surprise you to learn that dogs look for the same leadership qualities that people look for - consistent leaders who lead by example and who reward good behavior.

1. Consistency: communication between different species is not an easy task, especially when one species can talk and the other can't! Inconsistency makes that task all the more difficult. By adopting consistent behaviors in yourself, setting consistent boundaries, and keeping some sort of consistent routine - your dog will have an easier job of figuring out what you expect.

2. Lead by example: dogs tend to mimic our actions. Don't rely on them interpreting our intentions correctly. If we yell at our dog for being aggressive, this can lead to more aggression from our dog. They don't necessarily understand that we are angry and upset with their actions, they just follow our lead. When we learn calm approaches to dealing with this sort of problem, our lead is followed with calmness in return.

3. Reward good behaviour: behavior that is effectively rewarded tends to increase or continue. Therefore it makes sense to reward the behavior we want to see in our dogs. In the same way we get paid to work, our dogs expect to be paid too. Life in the pack works that way; food, security, shelter, play and social contact are the rewards dogs work for. Whilst our pet dogs get most of this stuff for free, it makes sense to ask them to do something to earn it, no matter how simple the task. Asking a dog to sit before letting it outside, or asking for a short 'stay' before being fed are two simple examples.

By adopting these 3 qualities and making them habits in your day to day interaction with your pets, you will see positive changes in your relationship. Dogs do respect these qualities and respond in kind with faithful companionship.

Written by Aidan Bindoff, Editor of http://www.PositivePetzine.com - your helpful online resource for positive dog training and behavior information.

When asked what is the biggest cause of dog behavior problems, most people would guess at lack of training, a 'dominance' problem, or inadequate socialisation. Some might even try to blame the dog's genetics or temperament. Whilst any of these might cause dog behavior problems, a great many dog behavior problems are caused in whole or in part by this one thing - not enough Exercise!

That depends on age, breed and individual. Puppies shouldn't be exercised for more than 20 minutes at a time, but they can be exercised gently quite frequently. Most puppies like to play, which tires them out with or without your help. Be careful not to over-walk puppies, their bones need to mature before they can be walked for long periods. Speak to your vet, but 20 minutes of walking at a time is about right.

Different breeds have different exercise requirements. Working and herding breeds typically have very high exercise requirements. Take the German Shepherd as an example, German Shepherd Dogs are descended from herding dogs who were required to form a "living fence" for their master's flock. This was a 24 hour a day job, which included protection from predators and thieves at night.

Some breeds, whilst they may appear to have high exercise requirements, may not. A Greyhound actually has a fairly low exercise requirement, although they do love to exercise intensely for short bursts.

Written by Aidan Bindoff, Editor of http://www.PositivePetzine.com - your helpful online resource for positive dog training and behavior information.

Aggression

The Calm-O-Meter

On Saturday morning I went to take my dogs for a big walk, sort of an attempt to make up for a lack of good walks during the week. Sabella was really amped up to be going on a walk, and was whining (she is a reactive German Shepherd) and quite frantic.

I leashed up the dogs, but didn't want to open the kitchen door to leave until Sabella had settled down. Why? Because leaving with her in this state would reinforce her frantic, hyped-up behavior. I at least wanted a period of no whining so I could click and open the door.

As it happened, I had run out of treats so Cath offered to cut some more treats up for me so I could do some training on our walk. This meant that Sabella had to wait longer. If left to her own devices, this would probably see her get more and more anxious to leave - but I didn't leave her to her own devices. I rewarded her when she was calm.

When we were ready to leave she walked nicely to the car. We had a quiet ride to our destination. She didn't bark at any dogs on the ride. Throughout our walk we encountered many dogs, including a pair of off-leash Labs who were very keen to introduce themselves as top-dogs in the area (no fooling anyone there, they soon changed their attitudes when they met Django - the world's greatest diplomat).

On this very enjoyable walk I was wondering about the difference between more successful and less successful walks with Sabella. Certainly when she has had lots of exercise, she is more likely to be easy to handle and less reactive. But on this walk she had had very little exercise throughout the week and, in fact, I was expecting her to be a nightmare in all honesty!

The difference this time was that, rather than just reinforcing a minimum acceptable level of calm, I was able to ask for (and get) more calm. I guess I hadn't been raising my criteria appropriately, there was more "calm" available than I had bothered to ask for in the past.

I vowed to make it a rule - we don't leave the house until she is at that level of calmness.

I decided that I really needed a scale so that I knew exactly how much "calm" I could ask for. I thought about all the observable behaviors I could look for, but that got complicated. Truth is, my brain already KNOWS what to look for. It's better if I don't have to think too hard about it! All I really need to do is ask my brain to tell me, "on a scale of 1-10 where 1 is 'amost asleep' and 10 is 'about to smash through a window and bite someone', how calm is this dog right now?"

Clinical Psychologists use the 'SUDS' which stands for "Subjective Units of Distress Scale". They ask clients, "on a scale of 1-10, how frightened/angry/upset does that make you feel?" Of course, we can't ask a dog, but we can make an assessment based on their observable behaviors and in many cases, a dog's owner will be able to give you a reasonably good figure even if completely untrained in doing so. Most of us know when our dog is very calm, calm, moderately anxious, anxious or very anxious, right?

Hence, the Calm-O-Meter (TM) was born. This will easily enable me to assess how calm Sabella is before I leave the house, before I put her in the car, before I let her out of the car, before I attempt to walk past an approaching dog rather than turning the other way and leaving.

It will also enable users to set criteria for an appropriate level of calm. It makes no sense to take an untrained, reactive dog and ask for Grade 1 Calm straight off the bat. No doubt there are some people who could do it, but not 99.9% of the population. Whereas 99.9% of the population could click and treat when their dog is just 1 grade calmer than before. 99.9% of the population could put off leaving the house until their dog is at a grade of calm they know they have achieved in the past.

Let me know what you think! If you have a reactive or high-energy dog, try it, report back to me by posting a comment below (you may need to register first).

Written by Aidan Bindoff, Editor of http://www.PositivePetzine.com - your helpful online resource for positive dog training and behavior information.

Need more information? Aidan also offers the entire Positive Petzine collection, loaded with useful information and articles, here.