Dog Training
Dogs
Dog Training
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Dog training is the process of teaching a
dog to
exhibit certain desired behaviors in specific circumstances. Some
examples are:
- Teaching a dog basic obedience commands (part of
obedience training)
- Teaching a dog to perform tricks casually or for
circus acts
- Teaching a
guide dog
to lead the blind
- Teaching a
rescue
dog to find victims of a disaster
- Helping a
hunting dog learn to perform its instinctive behaviors at appropriate
times
The specific behaviors taught in each case are different, but the underlying
principles are similar.
In the wild as pack
animals, canines have natural instincts that favor training. These instincts are
manifested when the dog lives with humans as a desire to please a handler, as a
dog would please senior members in a pack in the wild. The handler is
simply whoever is working with a dog at the time.
Basic training
Most dogs, no matter their advanced training or intended purpose, live with
people and therefore must behave in a way that makes them pleasant to have
around and for their own safety and that of other people and
pets. For the
happiness of both the dog and the owner, basic obedience is enforced through the
training procedure.
Age for early training
Dog training begins virtually at birth. Dogs that are handled and petted by
humans regularly during the first eight weeks of life are generally much more
amenable to being trained and living in human households. Ideally, puppies
should be placed in their permanent homes between about 8 and 10 weeks of age.
In some places it is against the law to take puppies away from their mothers
before the age of 8 weeks. Before this age, puppies are still learning
tremendous amounts of socialization skills from their mother. Puppies are
innately more fearful of new things during the period from 10 to 12 weeks, which
makes it harder for them to adapt to a new home.
Puppies can begin learning tricks and commands as early as 8 to 12 weeks of
age; the only limitations are the pup's stamina, concentration, and physical
coordination. It is much easier to live with young dogs that have already
learned basic commands such as sit. Waiting until the puppy is much older
and larger and has already learned bad habits makes the training much more
difficult.
Basic training classes
Professional "dog trainers" usually do not train the dogs, but actually train
the owners how to train their own dogs. It is crucial for the owner and
the dog to attend class together, to learn more about each other and how to work
together. Training is most effective if everyone who handles the dog takes part
in the training to ensure consistent commands, methods, and enforcement.
Formal training in classes is not always available until the puppy has
completed all its vaccinations at around 4 months; however, some trainers might
offer puppy socialization classes in which puppies can enroll immediately after
being placed in their permanent homes as long as disease risk is minimal and
puppies have receieved initial vaccinations. In most cases, basic training
classes accept only puppies who are at least 3 to 6 months old.
Communicating with the dog
Fundamentally, dog training is about communication. The handler is
communicating to the dog what behaviors are correct in what circumstances. A
successful handler must also understand the communication that the dog sends to
the handler. The dog can signal that he is unsure, confused, nervous, happy,
excited, and so on. The emotional state of the dog is an important consideration
in directing the training.
There are a four important messages that the handler can send the dog:
- Reward marker
- Correct behavior. You have earned a reward. This can be signaled with
treats, toys, praise, or simply a release command such as "Free" or "OK".
- Bridge
- Correct behavior. Continue and you will earn a reward. "Good"
- No reward marker
- Incorrect behavior. Try something else. "Uh-uh" or "Try again"
- Punishment marker
- Incorrect behavior. You have earned punishment. Punishments vary, and
range from a simple "No" to some kind of physical correction.
These messages do not have to be communicated with words. Dogs are not born
understanding these messages. They must be taught. Other signals can be used. In
particular, clickers are frequently used for the reward marker. It is critical
that the signals or words used for these messages are used with absolute
consistency. If the handler sometimes says "good" as a reward marker and
sometimes as a bridge, it is difficult for the dog to know when he has earned a
reward. The handler must always reward the dog in some manner after using the
reward marker, treat, play, praise, etc. Failure to reward after the reward
marker diminishes the value of the reward marker and makes training more
difficult.
For example, consider one method of teaching a dog to down on command. The
handler puts some food in his hand and puts his closed hand on the ground in
front of the dog. When the dog lies down, the handler says "free" and opens his
hand rewarding the dog. Once the dog has this concept the handler puts a command
with the behavior. The handler says "down", waits a beat, then puts his closed
hand on the floor. If after a bit the dog does not lie down, the handler says
"uh-uh" waits for the dog to offer the correct behavior. When the dog does lie
down, the handler says "free" and rewards the dog. Later the handler will want
to prolong the down before rewarding the dog. The handler says "down" and the
dog lies down. Then the handler says "good", encouraging the dog to continue the
behavior. After a moment the handler says "free" and rewards the dog. Suppose
the handler says "down" and the dog jumps up on the handler and starts biting at
the treat bag. The handler says "no" and punishes the dog in an appropriate
manner. Frequently use of the word "no" is sufficient punishment. Note that the
reward marker and punishment marker end the behavior. Once the handler gives
either of those messages, the dog is no longer expected to perform the requested
behavior.
Reward and punishment
Most training revolves around giving the dog a reward, such as treats (food
or favorite toys), attention, or praise when it obeys, and withholding rewards
when it does not.
Punishment is also useful in training, although "punishment" does not mean
beating the dog. A sharp No works for many dogs, but even some dogs show
signs of fear or anxiety with harsh verbal corrections. Punishments are
administered only as appropriate for the dog's personality, age, and experience.
Trainers generally advice keeping hand contact with the dog to positive
interactions; if hands are used to threaten or hurt, some dogs may begin to
behave defensively when stroked or handled.
Keeping a puppy on a leash in challenging situations or in his crate or pen
when not closely supervised prevents the puppy from getting into situations that
might otherwise invite an owner's harsh reaction (such as chewing up a favorite
pair of shoes).
The command voice
When giving commands to a dog, a calm, firm, authoritative voice is most
effective. Dogs do not respond well to hesitant, pleading voices, nor to
yelling, which might sound to the dog like threatening barking or scolding. It
is also important that the word used for the command and the pitch of the voice
be consistent each time the command is delivered so that the dog can more easily
learn what the owner means (siiiiiiiiiiiit does not sound the same as
sit, for example).
Using the puppy's name before a command ensures that the dog knows that a
command is coming, that it is for him (rather than for other dogs, children, or
people), and that he should pay attention. This is important because dogs hear a
lot of human speech that has no relevance for them at all, and it is easy for
them to disregard commands amongst the babble.
To reinforce the command, the dog always gets some kind of reward or
reinforcement (praise and usually a treat or toy) when it performs the action
correctly. This helps the dog to understand that he has done a good thing.
Note that not all dogs are trained to voice command. Many
working
breeds of dog are not trained to a voice command at all; they are taught to
obey a combination of whistles and hand signals. Deaf dogs are perfectly capable
of learning to obey visual signals alone. Many obedience classes teach hand
signals for common commands in addition to voice signals; these signals can be
useful in quiet situations, at a distance, and in advance obedience
competitions.
The specific command words are not important, although common words in
English include sit, down, come, and stay. Short,
clear words that are easily understood by other humans are generally
recommended; that way, people will understand what a handler is telling his dog
to do and other handlers have a good chance of controlling someone else's dog if
necessary. In fact, dogs can learn commands in any language or other
communications medium, including whistles, mouth sounds, hand gestures, and so
forth.
Training tricks
Many dog owners teach their dogs tricks. This serves several purposes:
Develops a stronger relationship between the dog and human; provides
entertainment; and engages the dog's mind, which can help to alleviate problems
caused by boredom. For example, the shake hands trick involves the dog
raising its paw and placing it into an outstretched hand. An example of a useful
trick is teaching a dog to ring a bell to go outside. This helps prevent the
stress placed on an owner when trying to recognize whether the dog needs to
relieve itself. For more information, see
clicker training.
Teething
At anywhere from three to six months of age, a puppy begins to get its adult
set of teeth. This period can be quite painful and many owners do not recognize
the natural need to chew. By providing specific chew toys designed to ease the
pain of teething (such as a frozen nylon bone), attention can be diverted from
table legs and other furniture.
Specialized training
Dogs are also trained for specific purposes, including:
Guard animals
Regarding dogs, due to their natural social structure which is terrirtorial
protective of companions, even companion animals will exhibit some form of alert
behaviors toward intruders. However true guard dogs and police dogs are
dedicated animals in the sense that they are not simultaneously intended to be
companion animals.
There are several methods regarding the training of guard animals, western
(e.g. Koehler Method) and eastern, and certain breeds are typically used in this
capacity. The
Schutzhund
method also contains a portion relating to protection, and generally means the
animal will bite on command, and will not release until commanded.
Positive punishment can include electric shocks related to attempting to eat
food other than in the designated food receptacle, for example so a guard dog is
not tempted by food given to to it by an intruder.
Service animals
Service dogs, such as
guide dogs,
are carefully trained to utilize both their sensory skills and the protective
instincts of dogs (as pack animals) to bond with a human and help that person to
offset a disability in daily life. The use of service dogs is an every-growing
field, with wide range of special adaptations.
See also
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