Tue, 30 Jan 2024 23:01:50 -0500WeeblyMon, 08 Feb 2016 01:11:24 GMThttp://gooddogtrainingny.com/blog/foundations-of-dog-training-basic-skills-in-a-complex-worldSo this is my first blog, and I never thought I would actually be doing this... In all honesty, I only thought of doing it because my web guy told me that 'dynamic content gets higher SEO scores' and my SEO sucks, whatever that means.  So anyways...I wrote this up for my class, because I kept having students who had done training before and were in my classes, but still struggling with things their dog supposedly 'knows'.  I had to look at why this is, and it was their foundation work. So I wrote this up for my students (and their owners), and I hope it helps you and your dog become better partners in crime!

         Foundations of Dog Training - Basic Skills In A Complex World

Foundation work is designed to teach your dog to focus on you, show manners, impulse control/patience, and learn a few key words that they will need to know for all the rest of the training you will be doing with them.

First and foremost, you need your dog to be interested in YOU! The world is a VERY distracting and sometimes scary place. Dogs are naturally curious, but also cautious around things that they have not seen before. This can work both for us and against us.

Having a really good treat, food or toy can help get your dog interested in you and keep their interest when distractions are present. Most dogs will work just for their owner's praise and interaction once clear communication, expectations and a relationship has been developed with your dog! Tertiary reinforcement :)

Although yummy treats and even real meat/cheese or similar may be used in the initial training and learning phase, this is phased out quickly, as we do not want our dog to need to be bribed into doing things. Natural rewards such as, toys, play, freedom, privileges etc can be substituted for treats and food later. In fact, I suggest having your dog work for their kibble/meal...instead of just giving to them, have them work for it!!! Dogs have a natural desire to work to please us and food is the easiest way for us to show them that all good things happen when they are working with us, and it stops quickly when they don’t.

The key thing to remember is that dogs do not speak English!! They don’t speak German or French either :) They are very good at forming associations between words/sounds, body movements/gestures, and actions. Most everyone has heard of Pavlov and his dinner bell that preceded feeding his dogs that caused them to salivate in anticipation of food, we use that same principle for a majority of training.

Pairing a gesture, word and action is the foundation of training, but your dog doesn’t know this yet, so we must teach them!!! I always start off with the easiest tasks, just being there, learning your name and lastly a special word that means 'I like what you are doing and you are going to get something' This basic concept allows us to easily tell the dog when they are doing what we want, and reinforcing the behavior we would like them to do more often.

The key is to get them to do it without forcing them, demanding them to do it, intimidating or scaring them and lastly, avoiding any punishments, saying NO or similar 'bad dag' type verbal corrections. If you start small and work to build these skills, your dog will also build self-confidence, impulse control, manners, and ultimately obedience to what ever level you desire.

On upcoming posts I will discuss the foundation skills that dog training is based upon, if the foundation is strong, the rest will fall into place with time, repetition, and practice. But please always keep in mind that your dog may be able to do things at home very well, but not at all outside or in a distracting environment. Our job as owners and trainers is to help build these skills safely and while having fun!! Nothing is more rewarding than when you can see your dog figure out something, have that first success learning a new skill, or the amazement when they start being able to put it all together in the real world. For some dogs this comes very easy and naturally, other dogs are so distracted and worried about everything, that additional work on distractions is needed.
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