Today, I've got nine, high-density, rocket fueled tips to help you and your dog
coexist peacefully together—coming up!
Ian here with Simpawtico Dog Training and before we get into those nine tips,
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And don't forget to check that YouTube description for notes, links, and
resources about the stuff we talked about. Now,
many people in the education world are probably familiar with the work of Harry
Wong, a nationally known educator and speaker. His book, The First Days of
School is a staple of educator workshops and seminars. I've had the pleasure of
seeing Harry Wong speak live a long time ago when I taught in Phoenix. Recently I
happened upon an old copy of Mr. Wong's book in the attic and I flipped through
it with a chuckle. However, I began reading it through a dog trainer's eyes
and I was gobsmacked at how relevant much of the information was. I've often
said to my human students in training classes that it's useful in many
instances to visualize your dog as a kid, in that they need many of the same
things a kid does to thrive. When I read Mr. Wong's book from the angle that we
were talking about dogs rather than children, some really good stuff came out
of it. Now, I know this is going to set some people off. I know there's going to
be a ton of viewers out there that will immediately go, "A dog is not a human, you
can't treat them like a person!" Jesus, I know. Not only is that obvious but that's
not really what I'm saying. What I'm trying to help you do here is to get
your mindset right and to understand that despite being different species
there are nonetheless similarities. We've coexisted together for nearly 20
thousand years and consequently many of our behavior patterns have dovetailed
together to some degree or another. There really is no other relationship between
humans and animals like it is with dogs. In my experience as a dog trainer, a
behavioral consultant, and as a dog owner myself many of the
concepts in a guide on effective education resonate true for educating
dogs, with only some minor tweaks. Here I've collected nine of my favorite
points from that book and I've edited and adapted them for you, the dog parent.
Number one: effective owners manage their dogs; ineffective owners discipline their
dogs. Most owners do not teach well enough, and they don't have a
well-thought-out plan. When problems arise they resort to disciplining by
yelling, scolding, and punishing. While this may buy you momentary compliance, this is
ineffective for long-term good behavior and it quickly erodes your relationship
with your dog. It compromises trust, respect, and love. The number one factor
that leads to a happy home is management. An effective dog owners have good
management skills, train for mastery, and have positive expectations for their
dog's success. Effective homes have rules and procedures for most everything. This
is how you get good, long-term behavior. Number two: the most important thing an
owner can provide a dog is security. A well-managed home is a predictable
environment. It's not a guessing game. If you have to be giving your dog a stream
of commands or reprimands that means your dog doesn't really know what
they're supposed to do. This uncertainty forms the basis for most behavior
problems. Not knowing what to do is one of the most stressful things in the
world to a dog. It's like if you were forced to give a speech on a new topic
with no notes. So dogs cope the only way they know how and that's usually by
acting out. Number three: homes must be a safe and protected environment where a
dog can come to learn without fear. I mentioned this in one of the last videos.
Dogs need to feel that their humans are in control and responsible for their
environment. They need someone to set limits and maintain them. We use rules to
set limits; we use discipline plans to outline rewards and consequences; and
then we use procedures to make sure things go smoothly in the home without
the need to discipline. Dogs and their owners shouldn't be afraid of failure.
Failure is how learning occurs! We must be supportive.
You never, ever punish a dog in the learning phases. Any punishment you
choose to deploy later must be fair, reasonable, and appropriate—and
importantly, nobody cares whether you think it's fair or reasonable. The only
thing that matters is how your dog feels about it.
Punishments that are painful or scary, or periods where stress is allowed to
accumulate without an outlet will often cause behavioral fallout. You run the
risk of learned helplessness, superstitious associations, generalized
inhibition, and increased aggression. Consult a trainer or behaviorist with
questions that you may have. Number four: the number one problem with dog behavior
is not discipline, it is the lack of procedures and routines. As I said, most
owners do not teach or practice enough. They do things with little forethought.
Then, when things go wrong they discipline. A
vast majority of the behavior problems in the home are simply caused by the
failure of dogs to follow procedures and routines. Well mainly dogs don't follow
procedures because their owner hasn't thought out the procedure. The owner
hasn't thought about what happens in a given scenario and so they haven't
planned how to accomplish tasks or do things around the house. Thus the dog
hasn't been trained to follow the procedures and the owner spends time
chasing the dog around and trying to discipline them. Look at it this way: to
do anything in life successfully we simply follow procedures. It's the same
when we get up in the morning, go to the grocery store, see a movie, get on the
freeway, order a meal, start the car, pay bills, mow the lawn, etc, etc. Every time
you want something done there must be a procedure or a set of procedures. For
example, have procedures for going outside to go potty,
getting in the car, mealtimes, getting hardware like leashes, collars and
harnesses, on moving from area to area, getting their nails cut, getting teeth
brushed, etc, etc. Effective owners manage by implementing procedures. Don't forget
that! Number five: all procedures must be rehearsed. Have your dog practice a
procedure step by step. This will help you identify individual behaviors you
need to teach your dog to be successful. Make sure your dog can perform each step
correctly. If a procedure requires a sit-stay, for example, make sure your dog
knows how to sit stay in that spot. If a procedure requires they go to a certain
place and take up a position, make sure they know that and have practiced that.
If you don't rehearse and practice, time that should be spent on other things
will be wasted just getting these simple things done. The reason that many owners
cannot get their dogs to do things is that they just tell the dogs what to do.
You've got to do what all coaches and teachers do: practice over and over again
until the procedure becomes a routine. It's a simple 3-step process, really:
Teach it, rehearse it, reinforce it. Don't overthink it!
Number six: reinforce a correct procedure and reteach an incorrect one. Determine
whether your dog has learned the procedure or whether they need further
instruction or practice. Reteach the correct procedure if rehearsal is unacceptable
and give representative feedback. Praise reward the dog when the rehearsal is
acceptable. Again, think like a coach. As the coach guides a player in practice,
small course corrections are made instantly. The coach tells, shows,
demonstrates, and encourages until it's done right. And when it is done right the
coach responds with praise, hugs, and smiles. But good coaches don't stop there, they
reinforce the correct technique by having their player do it over and over
again, each time pushing them to do it better. Number seven: if your dog cannot
demonstrate learning or achievement, the dog hasn't failed—we have failed the dog.
Remember learning has nothing to do with what we cover or go over. Just going
through the motions or showing up to a class doesn't significantly impact
behavior. Learning has to do with what the dog accomplishes. Don't give up on
your dog. If they're not behaving how you'd like, change your approach or seek
help from a professional. Number eight: learning is much more
effective when it takes place within a supportive community, even if that
community is just your family. That's kind of a no-brainer, I feel like, but
it's worth saying anyway. One thing I encounter a lot as a professional is the
disconnect between family members. You get conflicting expectations, differing
commands, different discipline systems, different reward systems, and wildly
varying procedures (if they exist at all). This is maddeningly frustrating to a dog!
Some members of the household are either unable or unwilling to stay on the same
page with everyone and that creates a lot of friction between people and the
dog. You've got to avoid that good cop/ bad cop dichotomy and make sure the
whole family is consistent and supportive. One bad apple can ruin the
whole system. Number nine: the greater the structure of a lesson and the more
precise the directions on what to do, the lower the error rate and the higher the
achievement rate. Training and practice sessions should have a consistent and
familiar format. It should be obvious to your dog that it's practice time. You
must set yourself a clear objective for each training and practice session. One
thing per session is usually sufficient, for pet dogs. You must set criteria as to
what you want your dog to accomplish in that session. This could be adding five
seconds to a Stay, adding five feet to a Come, adding a new
step to a chain, getting a faster Sit—the possibilities are endless, so don't go in
without a clear goal. Then you'll know if your dog is achieving or struggling, and
it's much easier to problem-solve. We make our instructions clear by
communicating efficiently. We teach our dogs the meaning of words and the
meanings of hand and body movements, and we remove the excess stuff. We make
representative observations about how they're doing and give them
representative feedback on their performance. Here's some good news guys:
it's never too late. Dogs are usually elastic and respond well to a positive,
supportive environment. In all but the most serious behavioral cases you are
able to reteach and reset if you're patient and consistent enough. And dogs'
brains are wired to love routines and procedures, so why wouldn't you
capitalize on that? So there you have it, guys. I hope these nine tips have got you
thinking and have inspired you to streamline things at home to some degree.
I'd love to hear your thoughts about these and how they've got you thinking
so let's connect in those YouTube comments. Don't forget to thumbs up this
video, and as always keep learning, keep practicing, and we'll see you next time.
Thanks for watching!