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, please make sure you're subscribed so you
never miss any of our videos. Also make sure to follow us on all the big social
networks so we can get better acquainted. 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!
