The Ultimate Guide to Dog Training. Teoti Anderson
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each session on a high note, if possible, but in any case quit while you’re ahead.
Step 3: Add a Cue
Once a behavior is reliable, which means that the dog is regularly performing the behavior, it’s time to add the cue (the word or physical signal you will use in order to ask the dog to perform the behavior).
Why don’t we add the cue first? Why don’t we say “Down” and then lure a dog into the down position? Because it’s not as easy for dogs to learn that way. Remember, they don’t speak English. Saying “Down” means nothing to them. Repeating it over and over isn’t helpful, either. If someone says something to you in a foreign language that you don’t know, does it help you understand it if they repeat it over and over? If they yell it at you? Of course not. It won’t help your dog, either. This is why we teach the behavior first and then label it with a cue.
For stationary behaviors, such as Sit, Down, and Settle, it’s helpful to teach a release cue. This is an indication to your dog that it’s OK to get up. Otherwise, should he stay seated forever? Or just get up whenever he wants? By teaching a release cue, you’ll help him hold a longer, more consistent Stay. You can use the same release cue for each exercise because it will always signify the same behavior—your dog no longer has to hold the position. Choose a word that you don’t often use in casual conversation, such as “Ok!” or “free” or “release.” The actual word doesn’t matter, as long as you are consistent with its use.
Step 4: Train to Fluency
Once you have a behavior on cue, it’s time to train it to fluency. This means that you will need to train it so that your dog will perform it with distractions, in different environments, and under different conditions. It doesn’t really do you much good if your dog only performs for you in your living room. If that’s the only place you train, however, then that’s likely the only place in which your dog will reliably perform the behavior.
For example, you teach your dog to Sit-Stay at home. You take him to the park and cue him: “Sit, Stay.” He sits but then bounces right up and takes off after a squirrel. This may be annoying, but it’s not unusual at all. You never taught your dog to Sit-Stay outside, with all of its scents and distractions, let alone squirrels.
This can also happen with house-training. Just because you teach your dog not to eliminate in your own home doesn’t mean that he learns not to eliminate in other people’s homes. So, when you take your dog to a relative’s house over the holidays, he may pee on the carpet even though he hasn’t done that in your house in some time. While his peeing could be due to stress or excitement, it also could be due to lack of training in different locations.
In order to train a behavior to fluency, you work gradually. Start with just a few distractions and then gradually add more and more. Remember to keep your training sessions short. If you find your dog struggling, you’re probably going too fast in your training. Back up to the last step at which your dog was successful, practice more at that level, and then try making it harder again.
It’s easy to add distractions to your training. When you first start working on a behavior, you will start with very few distractions. Train in a quiet place that your dog is familiar with, such as your family room. When a behavior is reliable, add a few distractions to your training sessions. Depending on the behavior you’re working on, it may be you moving around, getting farther from your dog, changing your training location, dropping items, having other people walk nearby, having other dogs nearby, and the like. Just add the distractions gradually. For example, if you’re working on Sit-Stay, you will move one pace away and ensure that your dog holds the position, then two paces, then three. You wouldn’t go from being right next to your dog to being across the room. This would likely be too much for your dog, and he would break position.
Depending on your dog’s age and disposition, training to fluency can take time. This is normal! Rushing him won’t be helpful. You want him to practice being successful rather than practice being unsuccessful. Young puppies have no attention spans, so they will be easily distracted. Something as small as a ladybug could prove a distraction for a puppy as compared to an older dog. Some breeds, such as bouncy Boxers or leaping Labradors, are busy by nature. Stock up on your patience and go only as fast as your dog can progress. Your training will be worth your efforts! By gradually increasing distractions and introducing new environments, you’ll have a dog that will perform for you in just about any situation.
Think of therapy dogs that have to be reliable in busy environments, such as hospitals, or emotionally charged environments, such as with hospice bereavement groups. Search and rescue dogs have to perform under sometimes treacherous conditions, experiencing loud noises and sharp smells. Police dogs have to perform in a variety of environments, from schools to alleys. This level of performance doesn’t happen automatically or overnight. It takes training behaviors to fluency so the dog learns to be consistent under a variety of conditions.
You need to train your dog to perform cues despite distractions.
Reward-Based Training
If someone were to offer you chocolate-chip cookies, ice cream, or tiramisu, would you have a preference? Maybe your teeth are sensitive to cold, so you wouldn’t find the ice cream appealing. Maybe you don’t like the taste of coffee, so the tiramisu holds little appeal. Or maybe you just don’t like chocolate, in which case the chocolate-chip cookies wouldn’t hold your interest. Everyone has different preferences when it comes to things that they like. Dogs are similar.
Not every dog loves being petted. Some dogs are OK with it, but they really don’t love it. Other dogs would do anything to snuggle with you. Some dogs are crazy about balls. They will play fetch for hours at a time. Other dogs just look at you when you toss a ball and never make an attempt to go after it. Some dogs will eat anything you put in front of them, while others are quite picky.
In using reward-based training, it’s very important to determine exactly what your dog finds rewarding. The items you use as rewards must be appealing in the eyes of your individual dog.
So, what does your dog find appealing? Make a list, in order of your dog’s preference. This will help you train, especially when it comes to adding distractions or teaching challenging behaviors for your dog. For example, some dogs have trouble with Down. If using a regular food treat as a lure doesn’t help him lie down, you may need to go to a higher-ranked reward on your list.
One of the most common questions about using rewards in training is “When do you stop using them?” When you are building behavior, you will use rewards. Once a behavior is trained to fluency, it’s a good idea to keep the rewards for a while and then gradually wean your dog off of them. This means that when your dog will reliably perform a behavior despite distractions and in different environments, you can start weaning him off of rewards. Most people try to remove the rewards too soon, and they find that the dog’s behavior suffers as a result.
There is a big difference between a reward and a bribe. A reward is offered after a behavior. A bribe is offered to get a behavior. You don’t want to bribe your dog! If you do, he will become dependent on that bribe, and you definitely don’t want that. For example, you want your dog to get off the couch. You give him the cue “Off!” and he gets off the couch. You give him a treat. Thus, you gave him a cue, he performed the correct behavior, and he got a reward.
Take the same scenario, except this time you go get a treat and show it to him, tempting him with it so he gets off the couch. Then you give him the treat. This is a bribe. Do this often enough, and your dog won’t get off the couch unless you tempt him with a treat. You don’t want to have to carry treats around with you all the time just to get your dog to do what you want. You can train your dog to respond by using rewards, not bribes.
Attention and Affection
Most dogs love attention, although not all of them love petting and other physically affectionate gestures. Many dogs, for example, do not like being petted on top of the head. This is a pretty assertive gesture when translated by dogs, so many