Category: Training Techniques

Patterns and Structure, How Do They Help with Dog Training and Behavior?

10/19/2020

Patterns, as I define them in dog training and behavior modification, are manufactured predictable events. That is they are a sequence of steps that become predictable with repetition and consistency. Remember, canines do not share our human language. We can not tell them what is coming up, but our actions to create patterns and structure can place them on more predictable ground.

As humans we take this for granted for ourselves, but if you think about it, our every day patterns and structure lend to the feeling of safety and security for human children and adults alike. Of course we can talk to each other should an unanticipated event comes up. Can you imagine how scary some events are to dogs who do not have that sort of heads up? We can make everything smooth sailing (or smoother sailing anyway) by adding a little pattern and structure to certain parts of our canine's day.

Comments

What is your dog's bliss? How can finding their bliss help?

10/13/2020

Comments

Leon loved fetching as a wee young thing. We both learned about this skill together, and had a lot of fun doing it.

What do I mean by your dog's "bliss"?

The activity or item that eventually or immediately drives your dog to do it more or want to engage with you more.
This is something the dog is going to eventually be clear about. You can experiment with to find it and start the process, but ultimately you need to pay attention to whether it is truly motivating your dog OR do you just expect it would motivate your dog.

Comments

Engagement and Motivation

10/5/2020

Comments

Engagement in dog training is the ability to create a relationship with your dog where you are the reward. Engagement done well will have your dog insisting on continuing the activity with their owner. In other methods of training, there are some elements of this as well, but the engagement that I am talking about is much more. Engagement in dog training is more about play with their owner or handler to create that very strong bond and work ethic. As with anything, it can have it's pluses and minuses. I really enjoy this method, because I get to play with my dog and train. The thing that motivates me in this method, is seeing my dog have fun while we are doing it. Why do I also use other methods other than Engagement and Motivational methods? One reason is this is a bit slower process than some other methods in the shorter term. Sometimes if you really need to stop your dog from jumping on your elderly relatives, while including them in your family activities, you might want to take a faster course of action. Of course there are ways to control what you dog does by confining them more, but I like my dogs to have certain freedoms during the day, where this perhaps might not happen if I was only using this method. It takes longer not in time per day, but the progress to build to a goal in general will take more time. There are reasons to want to spend a longer period if time in training your dog. I will go over that at a later date.

Comments

How to work with and be realistic with the dog or puppy you have right now

9/28/2020

Comments

Dog lovers know that a dog's physical appearance as far as size, hair length, hair color, ears shape, curly or flat coated, age, and so on. Dog's are also individuals, and these internal characteristics do not show on their outsides. These personality traits and temperaments can vary wildly from playful, wary, suspicious, defensive, resource guarding, driven, active, laid back, and so forth. Add to the mix that some dogs have some training or real life experiences that may be useful as a dog owner or trainer creates a training plan. Recently, one of our blogs went over why there are so many different methods, techniques, and tools that help a dog owner to train their dog.

A professional dog trainer will look at the dog you have right now (as best they can in the time they have) to determine the right path to start down. A dog owner who is honest with themselves can begin to assess this too. None of these traits determine how well a dog will be trained, but they do guide you to what ways will most likely efficiently and effectively train your dog to the best of your ability.

Comments

Give Feedback to Your Dog by Using Markers or Clickers

8/31/2020

Comments

Typical Shana face when she hears the verbal marker "good".

Feedback is information that lets your dog know whether they are on the right track or not, depending on what you are doing with them. It is important that feedback is given at a well timed point to let them know in that moment if they are performing or working in the direction or task that you want. Ideally you want this feedback to be able to be given with some space in between you once you get going. Rewards and corrections are a type of feedback that is close up. Instead in this article, I am going to talk about equipment, the clicker, and verbal, your voice.

Comments

Molding One of The First Steps in The Four Levels of Training

8/24/2020

Comments

Molding is the process of teaching your dog what you want them to do, while at the same time:

1. Getting them used to close handling
2. Teaching them to relax under your touch
3. Being able to have them start to get the position each time from the beginning
4. Build trust in your relationship with them
5. Gentle way to build motion memory into your dog
6. Beginning leash training and not pulling on the leash, believe it or not

Comments

Patterns and Structure, How Do They Help with Dog Training and Behavior?

What is your dog's bliss? How can finding their bliss help?

Engagement and Motivation

How to work with and be realistic with the dog or puppy you have right now

Give Feedback to Your Dog by Using Markers or Clickers

Molding One of The First Steps in The Four Levels of Training

Author, Robin Rubin

Archives

Categories