Foundations of Training and Building Engagement
Here are our insights to understand how dogs learn, methods of effective communication, and where to start with training. These key aspects will help you strengthen your bond with your dog and ensure successful training sessions.
Understanding How Dogs Learn:
Dogs learn not from their actions themselves, but from the outcomes of those actions. For example, if your dog pulls on the leash and finds a juicy steak, they learn that pulling on the leash can lead to positive results. From the dog’s perspective, food isn’t the only thing they perceive as rewarding aka positive reinforcement: they could also find sniffing in the grass, greeting another dog or people, even chasing a small animal as rewarding. It’s important to use the things a dog finds as rewarding to teach good behaviors, but also realize that the reason they might not be listening to you is because they find more value from something else around them. To foster desirable behaviors, we encourage the teaching and rewards to come from you as opposed to the reward coming externally, or from something else. By clearly rewarding your dog when they exhibit desired behaviors, you do two huge things:
You increase the likelihood of those behaviors being repeated in the future, and
Your dog learns that you are the most important thing to pay attention to.
“To foster desirable behaviors, we encourage the teaching and rewards to come from you as opposed to the reward coming externally, or from something else.”
Effective Communication:
Dogs don't have an innate understanding of the English language. Dogs rely more on the energy and context of a situation rather than understanding the specific words we say. Our approach is to bridge this communication gap by linking our words to behaviors we have already taught clearly or obese they are already performing regularly. By consistently pairing words with actions they already know, we can help dogs learn the meaning behind what we're saying. This approach enables us to communicate more effectively with our canine companions by adjusting to them instead of expecting them to adjust to us.
To communicate effectively, we recommend utilizing body language, food, and the leash. These methods help us teach behaviors in a clear and consistent manner, enabling our dogs to understand our intentions when they can’t understand our language.
“Dogs can be confused due to a lack of clear communication from their owners.”
Imagine being in a foreign country where you don't understand the language. If someone starts yelling in the room you are in or even worse yelling at you, you can sense from their energy that they are obviously upset and emotional. While you likely would stop what you are doing and bring your attention to them, you don’t know what caused them to start yelling in the first place. Was it something you did, was it something they were responding to in the environment or was it something that has been building up out of frustration all day? Similarly, dogs can be confused due to a lack of clear communication from their owners.
Where to Start with Training:
Building a strong foundation is crucial for successful training. We strongly recommend starting with engagement, aka teaching your dog to pay attention to you! If a kid is distracted in class, it will be near impossible for them to take in the information from the teacher, same goes for dogs.
Engagement involves using something that your dog desires, like food, a toy or affection to reward our dogs for behaviors like looking at us, ignoring distractions, calming down, and moving alongside us.
When starting training, it's best to avoid using toys that can trigger excessive excitement and chaotic energy. Instead, we aim for a more focused and controlled energy during training, and food tends to be a more effective and reinforcing reward compared to affection alone. (Plus, you can get a whole lot more repetitions with food than you would be able to with a toy or affection) This practice helps foster a strong connection between us and our dogs, as they become more attentive to the person at the other end of the leash and understand that reinforcement comes from us.
By conditioning the word "yes" with food or a treat, you create a reward event that your dog will start to care heavily about! This word doesn’t tell them to do anything specifically, but it predicts that food will be offered to them. You can start to condition your dog to this marker word by first saying “yes,” pausing, and then rewarding. Practice this 100 repetitions per day using your dog’s kibble and/or treats before you start using it for obedience training.
“By conditioning the word “yes” with food or a treat, you create a reward event that your dog will start to care heavily about!”
In the initial stages of training, using the word "yes" as a marker for success is primarily associated with food rewards. While dogs may not understand why they are being rewarded initially, as they progress and learn specific commands, they start to connect their behaviors with the “yes” marker and the reward to follow. It takes repetition and consistency for them to grasp the concept. Don’t expect your dog to be ready for the “yes” marker out on walks the first week.
Once your dog is expecting a reward after hearing “yes,” you can progress to teaching essential commands and mannerly behaviors. Recall, turning away from distractions, sitting still and impulse control are key skills to prioritize. As we mentioned above, mastering these skills will:
Increase the likelihood of desired behaviors being repeated, and
Teach your dog that you are the most important thing to pay attention to.
Together, these things enable your dog to respond physically and emotionally, leading to a stronger bond through effective communication and leadership.
Check out the video below to get more tips!