TRAINING TIPS AND TRICKS: Training Never Stops!
At PUPS, we are all about partnering with members and their dogs for life. “Training” is not “just” a program or rite of passage. It is ongoing, ever-changing – just like you and your pup! In this third article of our training series, Expert Trainer, Liz Silberman explores the benefits of viewing your pup’s healthy development through the lens of training never stops.
Puppyhood Sets the Foundation – As you and your pup grow together, tuck how you respond to his behavior away at the back of your mind; for instance, consider “why” he is devouring food as soon as the bowl is within reach. Are you dropping the bowl as soon as he’s nose-deep in kibble? If so, our cunning pups learn: “The faster I get to my bowl, the faster I get my dinner!”
This behavior calls for correction. Liz said it’s as simple as asking your dog to sit. He sits. Then, calmly set the bowl down. You’ve changed the situation. What you do before and after the act – correction and praise – shifts the dynamic.
The Terrible Teens – Your dog was an angel in training. Now, she’s knocking over the toy bin. By the time you pick it up and sit down again, the bin’s contents are spread throughout the apartment. What gives? An anthropologist by training, Liz notes wild dogs leave to find a new pack at around the one-year mark. Naturally, pups may test relationships then. They become bolder. It’s not malicious, Liz insists; they’re simply trying to figure out what they can get away with. At this maintenance or readjustment stage, it’s critical to remind your little terror: “Be brave. Be your own dog. But you still have to listen. Sit calmly. Walk politely.”
Parents may unknowingly and actively habituate and reinforce trouble behaviors; for example, you’re working from home. Puppy barks. Whines. Places his paw on your desk. You stop typing or put down your phone. In that instant, your dog has learned: “I can go up to mom, whine and stare, and get what I want.” He doesn’t learn frustration tolerance or patience.
Shed Trouble Behaviors; Don’t Reinforce Them! – “Demand barking” accounts for around one-third of the cases Liz sees. Puppy isn’t alerting parent of danger. She solely wants attention, or something from the parent. The best method is the hardest method: Completely ignore her. Don’t shout or make eye contact. “Punishing” by shouting feeds the behavior. It’s attention. For particularly dramatic cases, Liz suggests leaving the room, apartment or house completely. A great rule of thumb: Keep your hands full. Actively do something. Your dog doesn’t get attention from you.
Rethink Training – From the minute you pick up your dog to the minute you say “goodbye,” you are teaching him something. The capacity to learn doesn’t switch “off.” Dogs constantly learn from your reactions. This is the true definition of “training never stops,” and why problem behaviors arise in well-trained dogs. Instead of oozing frustration, ask yourself: “Why is this happening? What am I doing before this happens? Afterward? What is my dog getting out of this?” Often, the answer is your dog is responding to a behavior, usually the additional playtime he gets from, say, annoyingly and repeatedly tackling the toy bin.
The Big Takeaway – It’s easy to limit the idea of training to specific tasks completed a couple of minutes each day. But every interaction is an opportunity to either reinforce or positively readjust. Consider why the likes of catapulting out every door is a “thing.” Know you have the power and tools to stop it!
Next in our training series: We’ll take a closer look at how your household can thrive during the troublesome adolescent phase.
