| Dog training is easy when you discover the | | | | normally train in our kitchen with the door shut. |
| secrets of dog training professionals explained in | | | | Here's a list of things we can do to set up some |
| this brief article. Once you leave your house, all | | | | low-level distractions:1. place a tennis ball in the |
| your training will appear to go down the drain. | | | | middle of the floor |
| How do you overcome these distractions? Find | | | | 2. turn the radio on softly, then turn it up |
| out right now!What is reinforcement? | | | | gradually throughout our training session |
| Reinforcement is what happens when a behaviour | | | | 3. have a friend come into the room with us |
| is maintained or increased. Dog training is | | | | 4. put a piece of stale dog food on the floor |
| essentially a progression of reinforcements. Food, | | | | 5. wave our arms around |
| toys, play, attention and 'life rewards' such as | | | | 6. turn the taps on halfway through an exercise |
| being let inside or taken for a walk are all potential | | | | 7. whistle a tune |
| reinforcers.Without reinforcement, behavior will | | | | 8. roll a tennis ball slowly in front of our dog |
| never be maintained or increased. This is fine if | | | | 9. turn away from our dog... or any combination |
| you want a behavior to disappear - simply stop | | | | of the above.Remember, the secret is to always |
| reinforcing it. But if you want a particular behavior, | | | | set our dogs up for success, so that we may |
| you need to reinforce it.Most dog trainers these | | | | reinforce (maintain or increase) their good |
| days use food as a reinforcer. It is by no means | | | | behavior.If any of the distractions on that list are |
| the only reinforcer, but food is convenient and, | | | | too much, then our dog fails. Just because I |
| let's face it, all dogs need to eat!So we start off | | | | wrote it on my list of low-level distractions doesn't |
| training with food in a quiet, distraction-free area | | | | mean that your individual dog won't find any one |
| inside the house. We put any other pets out of | | | | of those things too distracting.Be creative. Think |
| the room. We turn off the TV. We wait until the | | | | of new things to add to the list. When your dog |
| kids are in bed. Then we shut the door and train. | | | | can cope with them all, start making up |
| There are numerous books and articles explaining | | | | combinations. Invite two or more friends around |
| how to do this, so I won't re-hash the basics.The | | | | to help. Have them toss a ball back and forth |
| problems begin when we get out of that | | | | while you practise stays or recalls. Have one of |
| distraction-free environment and into the real | | | | them whistle a tune while the other waves her |
| world. Here there are other dogs, birds, squirrels, | | | | arms around. The sky is the limit so long as we |
| cats, new smells, sights, sounds, people, cars, | | | | always set our dogs up for success.When we |
| bikes, postmen - it's all out there! Our training | | | | have trained with distractions inside the house, |
| usually starts falling apart once we leave the | | | | we're ready to find a quiet spot outside. No other |
| house.But it doesn't need to.The big secret to dog | | | | dogs around, no kids playing, no cars screaming |
| training is to always set the dog up for success. If | | | | past, and hopefully no cats or squirrels. We train |
| the dog fails, we can't reinforce. If we can't | | | | the behavior, then start adding the distractions |
| reinforce, behavior can not be maintained or | | | | from our list, always setting our dog up to |
| increased. If behavior hasn't been maintained or | | | | succeed.That is all there is to it - manufacture |
| increased, training has failed.So we need to set | | | | some controlled distractions, build them up, and |
| the dog up to succeed. Going too far, too fast will | | | | always make them just easy enough that our |
| only lead to failure. Allowing too many distractions | | | | dog continually succeeds so that we can reinforce |
| or too big a distraction too soon is setting our dog | | | | the behavior.Aidan Bindoff is Editor of Positive |
| up to fail. Without success, we've got nothing to | | | | Petzine, a free resource for people training their |
| reinforce.The best way to set our dogs up for | | | | own dog. Join now, and for a limited time you can |
| success is to control the environment as best we | | | | download all available back issues (a $29.95 value) |
| possibly can until they are well and truly proofed | | | | for free! |
| and ready for the big wide world.Let's say we | | | | |