Does Your Reward Count?

I was perusing my email the other day, when I came across a note from someone who adamantly proclaimed that their dogs got no cookies, or treats for performing their "daily duties". It got me to thinking, at how arrogant we humans can be at times. I say we, because at one time, I thought as they did.

"My dogs needed to work for me, simply because I was me; and if they didn't do as I asked, when I asked, they received a correction. Because I was the human." 

Where is the logic in that you ask? I don't know, and I can't begin to tell you.

Here's the thing, we as humans would be pounding the pavements for another job, if our employers decided they would pay us whatever they felt like it.. when they felt like it.

via

"Ms. Thames, 

Your online pay statement is ready, today you will be paid in pounds of chocolate for your 40 hours of work this week. 


Sincerely, 


Management" 


or 


"Your online pay statement is ready, today you will be paid in gift cards to Mo.e's So.uth.west Gri.lle" 


Honestly those aren't "bad" prizes at all, but its not what I need or want at the time. Somehow, I think Sp.rint would laugh at me, should I show up in their store with pounds of chocolate, as a way of payment.

Yet, we as humans deem, that our praise, and pets on the head to be sufficient for our dogs. All The time.We ask them to leave things they really like, we ask them to stop behaving like their instinct demands, we ask them to conform to our thoughts and ideas... and then reward them with what WE think they want.

Like us, dogs find different things rewarding, at different times. Its easy for us humans, to only use rewards that are easiest for us to do. With petting and praise, you always have your hands, and mouth with you,so it becomes the go to reward.

However, in truth, the types of rewards we can give our dog, is only limited by their likes and dislikes. Contrary to popular belief, rewards don't have to be food, it can be chasing a ball, going outside, going for a walk, etc..

I had a dog that I baby-sat for, who loved to jump baby-gates. This wasn't at all a "cool" thing for him to do, and I wanted him to sit quietly at them, instead of hopping them. When he [finally!] sat quietly while I was the other side, I let him hop the gate as his reward. He did what I wanted, so I rewarded him with what he wanted. 

Would I do that every-time? Of course not, but every once it a while? Sure.

What Does Your Dog Find Rewarding?
Susan Garret, a trainer I really admire, had us list ten things that our dogs found rewarding, starting with the highest valued item.

My oldest dog, is a 12 year old dachshund named Bubbles, she spends most of her time, sleeping, and eating.. what things could she possibly find rewarding? This was pretty difficult, as Bubbles is not a hugely demanding or excitable dog.

Texas, is my other pet dog, at 3 years, he's much more active than Ms. Bubbles and a lot easier to reward. 

Bubbles	Texas
Food (This is a reward, she will take no matter her stress level, no matter the situation)  Raw Meat  Cooked Meat  Meaty Treats  Dried Meaty Treats  You get the idea..  Being with me  Going Outside  Coming Inside Water  Sniffing  Praise  Petting  Tug of War	Food  Going Outside  Playing Ball  Flirt Pole  Toys  Being with Me  Water  Coming Inside  Riding in the car  Praise  Petting (I rarely, if ever use this for Texas, because petting is more aversive than rewarding to him.)

Knowing these specific things, I can use it to motivate the dog in different situations. For instance my trip to the park with the dachshunds, earlier last week, I used food, knowing I would need something HIGHLY motivating to keep my dogs focus on me. Honestly, trying to compete with other dogs, squirrels, smells, nature... the human is going to lose, for the most part. Either you can motivate your dog to choose you, or you can demand your dog choose you. (I can almost guarantee if you motivate your dog, it will be easier on everyone involved!) 

Alpha and Beta

Dr. David Mech, talks about the idea of Alpha and Beta wolves, and how inaccurate those terms have become.

5 Ways to Train Like a Pro

Brought to you from our friends at Success Clicks!

A while back I posted 5 tips to help you train more effectively– 5 Ways To Train Like a Pro. I talked about timing, rate of reinforcement, quiet hands, not repeating cues, and precision placement of rewards. These are definitely things I’m regularly mentioning to my students to help them improve their mechanics. 

Let’s take a look at 5 more tips to help you improve the effectiveness of your training. Like many things in life, the more effective you train the better results you will see. It’s totally possible to have an ineffective method and not see many results at all. So, let’s look at those tips.... read more

Real Life

Can I confess something to you guys?

Sometimes my dogs get on my nerves. 


Like, what's the nearest shelter's number, get-on-my-nerves. 

Whew. Load offa my chest there.

I have a not only a  teen-aged dog, but one that requires training and work, then over-time work, a reactive dog and an old gal, my job, school and other events and situations I'm required to attend. Pressure? Yeah. A little. There are weeks where I just don't.stop.going.

I've been asked on multiple occasions how I manage it all, and I can honestly say this: Sometimes I don't know. 
To be honest, I've been in this type of situation before, so we're flying by the seat of our pants. 

Sometimes I have to put my focus on one specific thing and let everything else fall to the way side.

Sometimes I'll have to split my focus between two things and let everything else drop off.

<cough>MyHouse</cough>

There are times when I feel as if I'm just rushing from one thing to another, gotta get home, get the dogs out, gotta exercise them..push come on guys, lets pump those legs.. are we tired yet? Surely you're tired.. lets move move move!

During times like this, little things become big annoyances.

It hit me the other day, as I reacted in frustration to the incessant barking of one of my dachshund's... "FOR THE LOVE OF BONES AND ALL THINGS GOOD STOPITSTOPITSTOPITSTOPIT!

She didn't stop.

All the while a little voice inside my head is going: "This isn't exactly teaching her what you would like instead Erin!"

I hate my brain at times. 

So whaaaat? What am I supposed to do? #whineyvoice

Stop reacting to the situation and start being proactive about it. 

You would think, after owning and working with a reactive dog for the last three years, the last thing I would want to do is act just like him. *grins*

After a deep annoyance-cleansing breath. I called her to me, and gave her something else to focus on.

The next time she started barking, instead of ignoring it until I was way past my annoyance level, I told her "Thank You", called her into another room, away from the "sound" (that I couldn't hear) and rewarded her for coming. This way, she still alerts me to things outside, I acknowledge that she' done her duty.. and hopefully can move on.

All without an ounce of frustration. 


What situations do you normally "react" too that perhaps need another perspective on? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Habits of an Effective Dog Trainer

Guess what? If you own a dog, you are your dog's trainer! It's sort of like being a parent, when you have a child you automatically get that title whether you want it or know what to do with it! 


Eventually as you have more, you learn the "tricks of the trade' shall we say, and the same rings true with dog training. 


Today's article is brought to you by 3LostDogs. - These tips are geared to those who may not be "naturals" when it comes to communicating or training their dogs and I found, extremely helpful! 

"Some people are just really good at dog training. They get results and seem like naturals. Does this mean that the rest of us mere mortals cannot hope to be as good as they are? Nope.

Ask any one of these “naturals” how they got so good and they’ll probably tell you “with lots of practice.” And whether they are pros with hundreds of clients, agility handlers, or 12 year old kids training their pet in the backyard, they all tend to possess the following seven habits. I could probably turn each one of these into a blog post by themselves, but for now, here’s an overview......7 Habits of Highly Effective Dog Trainers" 

Angry Birds + Dog Training?

While I had a different topic I wanted to write about today, I could not, pass up the oppurtunity to share this post with you. I'm pretty sure if you haven't played the game Angry Birds, you've at least seen or heard it.
I'm positive though, you never thought of it in the context of dog training...!

Check this out:  How to train your pet like an addictive causal video game. 

Why can't I come up with stuff like this?

Puppy Training

Puppies learn "Sit"