Dog Training Tips

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Senin, 21 Maret 2016

I am a Dog Trainer

I began as a dog trainer because I wanted to help dogs. As a shelter volunteer I saw dogs sitting in kennel runs, not just for months but sometimes for years due to behavioral issues. Some were just hyperactive dogs that needed to be taught some manners, some just needed to learn how to play well with others; none were unadoptable. But someone needed to take seriously the fact that these dogs had behavioral issues. Instead, they were adopted out and returned, sometimes multiple times.

I spent three years educating myself through online courses, taking dogs through different trainers. Reading books, watching DVD’s, and just watching dogs. Yet, after all that, I still didn’t think I had the answers I needed to truly help dogs with behavior problems. There was just too much information out there pulling me in too many different directions at once.

It has now been 8 years since I decided I wanted to be a dog trainer, a person who works with dogs. Not an instructor, like some people; I wanted to be hands on so that I could analyze, teach, and experience the development of the canine education process. Three years ago I finally settled into the trainer I wanted to be. A balanced trainer. I wanted to be the kind of trainer that looked at a dog, accessed the situation, and used the means necessary to train the dog to its fullest potential. If that meant using a prong collar, a remote e-collar, a gentle leader, markers, toys, food, metal or nylon choke collars, then so be it.

My job is done when a dog can live in a relaxed state of mind and have the understanding of each basic “word” that it has been taught. If this helps give a dog a better, healthier relationship with its human companions and keeps it in its home for the rest of its life, then I feel I’m successful in what I’m doing.

With this reasoning, I will not apologize for telling a dog “No”. I will not let anyone berate me because I believe in discipline, a state of being, as well as in giving a correction for a bad decision. I believe discipline does NOT equal abuse and I believe you cannot train a dog to its fullest potential by reward alone. To have balance you must have right and wrong.

My training is not positive reinforcement only, nor is it punishment based, it is based on balance. I use all 4 parts of the **Learing Theory of Dog Training , not just 2.

**The Four Quadrants of Operant Conditioning.

Positive Reinforcement—

Add something that will increase the chance of the behavior happening again.

(Treat or Toy reward after asking for Sit)

Negative Reinforcement-

Remove something that will increase the chance of the behavior happening again.

(Ecollar tap stops once the dog is in the Sit position)

Positive Punishment—

Actively doing something that decreases the chance of the behavior happening again.

(Leash correction, squirt bottle )

Negative Punishment—

Removing something from the dog that will decrease the chance of the behavior from

happening again.

(with hold treat reward, remove self or dog from situation)

Senin, 14 Maret 2016

Working like a dog

Hello Julie,

Having consulted two of my fabulous friends who happen to be ‘real world editors’ I can happily report that the technically correct format would be “Hi there, Mia”. This is to clarify that my name is not ‘there Mia’, although one friend said “no one does it on the internet”, so maybe you can’t win – or can’t lose?!
I’m just happy you said “Hi”.

Its so true that there are welfare issues all around us – even when perhaps we’re not expecting to see them. Or when we are so used to seeing them that we need to put on ‘fresh eyes’ to see them in a different light. I find it really interesting that some of the features we find attractive in dogs can be the very same that equate to poor welfare for the animal. I hope you can tell me some more about the why and how we humans identify certain features as attractive. It’s a really fascinating topic.

In a not-really-related-but-kind-of-interesting side note – I noticed some interested physical traits we were encountering when I worked with guide dogs. Our breeding colony was selected for good physical health and on a basis of behavioural traits deemed ‘suitable for guide dog work’, but not to a strict physical standard (as a ‘pedigree’ Labrador might be). We had some Golden retrievers and F1 and F2 crosses/crossbacks between the two breeds – always selecting for dogs that could work well as guide dogs for people with vision impairment.

(source)

We started seeing some brindle coming through in some black dogs.
So we had some Labradors that looked like this >>>

There were people telling us they COULDN’T BE LABRADORS!

They MUST be Rottweiler crosses. But they werent - and we had records showing 50 years+ of breeding history to show it.

(source)

Turns out that it’s not an unheard of ’mismark’ (such a dirty word for such attractive markings) to Labrador breeders.

But here’s the neatest part – it’s even been seen in other Guide Dog schools, in other countries (how cool is that!?!).

This brindle lab is from a GD school in the USA (source)

Reminds me of those silver foxes, but man, are they a topic for another whole post.

(source)

So how have you been?
I’ve been quite busy this past week – working hard ahead of a national workshop that’s coming up in a couple of weeks’ time.

Speaking of that, I find it so interesting that ‘working like a dog’ means to work extremely hard (at least in Australian culture – is it the same in the US o’ A?). Their industrious capacity is built into our everyday language.

Working dogs are really quite iconic here in Australia.
We have statues celebrating them, movies about them...

...we even commemorated them on a set of stamps a few years ago (I personally knew that chap on the right very well)!

One of my favourite picture books as a child was about ‘Suey the sheep-dog’. The Australian working dog industry is truly diverse. In the work I’ve been doing over the past few years, we have chosen to define working dogs as domestic dogs kept for non-companion purposes that work in a private industry, government, assistance or sporting context.

I will tell you more about that work and Australia’s working dogs next time!

I hope your weekend is full of sunshine and laughter,

Mia

References:

Trut, L. (1999). Early Canid Domestication: The Farm-Fox Experiment, American Scientist, 87 (2) DOI: 10.1511/1999.2.160

Schmutz, S.M. & Berryere, T.G. (2007). Genes affecting coat colour and pattern in domestic dogs: a review, Animal Genetics, 38 (6) 549. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2052.2007.01664.x

Minggu, 13 Maret 2016

Dog Trainer Continuing Education Incorporating Dog Bite Prevention into Dog Classes

Doggone Safe and APDT are pleased to offer this recorded webinar for dog trainers and dog behavior consultants on how to incorporate dog bite prevention education into dog classes and private consults. Every trainer and behavior consultant has many opportunities to help dog owners learn how to read dog body language, reduce stress and anxiety for their dog and increase safety for their children and others that the dog might encounter.

This webinar, presented by Doggone Safe President, Joan Orr covers the following topics:

Observation skills for the client

Dog body language

Key signs
Tools you can use

Proximity check
Reducing anxiety

Incorporating teachable moments into your classes

Demonstrations that you can do with dogs in class

Handling
Resource guarding
Be a tree
Puppy biting

Dog bite prevention in the community - how this can benefit your business

Click here for more information or to register

Kamis, 10 Maret 2016

Photo Contest Winners! Kids and Dogs 2014

Doggone Safe is pleased to announce the winners of the 2014 Kids and Dogs photo contest. The goal of the contest was to promote images of safe kid/dog moments to provide an alternative to the "cute but dangerous" photos of kids and dogs that are popular on social media. We wanted photos that show a wonderful bond between kids and dogs, where both parties are safe and content and the dog is with the child by choice. We want to show photos in which both the child and the dog are happy, with no hugging, kissing, sitting on the dog or other actions that dogs generally dont like.

We are very grateful for the help of our terrific panel of judges, who had a very difficult job choosing among the amazing group of entries. Thanks to Judy Johns, Tula Asselanis, Lisa Kelderman and Susan Fishbein!

Congratulations to all our winners and thanks to everyone who entered! Click here to see the 65 photos that made it to the semi-finals out of the several hundred entries. Please share your favorites on social media to help spread our child/dog safety messages.

1st Prize: Dana Martin: Sadie and Amelia (also winner of the Grand Prize draw for an ipad from among the top 3 winners from each of our 2 photo contests)