Psychology Of Dog Training
What are we trying to accomplish when we correct a dog? Do we want to make the dog submissive to us? Are we trying to show the dog that we’re displeased with his behavior? Do we want the dog to feel guilty or ashamed over what he has done or how he is behaving? I think not.
When we strip away all of the emotional considerations involved in any incident where we feel the dog deserves a correction, whether it be anger, disappointment, a sense of betrayal, or embarrassment, we want him to stop doing something that isn’t appropriate. The owner wants the dog to settle down.
Unfortunately, this kind of thinking, while justifiable in most cases, simply won’t work because dogs can’t learn not to do things; they can only learn to do things. Now, I’m not suggesting that a dog can’t learn to be still; my point is that a dog can learn to be still only by learning how to be calm. So, while we may think that we want inaction from our dog to accomplish our aim of settling the dog down, we really need action.
What gets dogs into trouble with their human companions are the canine’s natural tendencies and inclinations, their wild instincts. These instincts would be completely appropriate and normal if the dog were living in the wild, and so it is to be expected that dogs become excited at the arrival of strangers or at the return of their owners.
It is natural behavior for a dog to be destructive when left alone, or to pull rambunctiously when walked on a lead. When dogs do these things the problem isn’t that our pets are acting abnormally and that we’re bad dog owners: These behaviors are inborn traits.
The real problem is how we perceive a dog’s behavior and then how that perception influences the way we present training problems to our dogs. Rather than saying to the dog, “Don’t pull on your lead,” we need to speak in terms of an instinctual message: “Be attracted to me even though there are powerful distractions about.” Rather than commanding a dog not to jump on strangers, we need to train him how to make contact with strangers. We can’t tell a dog not to bark, or to cease being a pest, but we can train him to have an unswerving focus on an objective.
Through such a focus, a dog can be commanded to settle down. Ultimately, the dog can develop so much patience that whenever he wants something, calmness rather than nervousness will be his habit for success. If we analyze what we’re trying to accomplish in those everyday situations that require manners from our dog, we’ll find that we actually want to train our dog to do things.
When you catch your dog behaving badly, you have to discipline him immediately. Below are tips on how to properly do it.
1. Don’t react to the evidence. Control yourself. Don’t say anything. If the dog is in the room and you enter, avert your glance from the evidence as soon as you notice it. Even if the dog is already running away , don’t say anything.
2. Go and get the dog. He may shiver, shake or freak out as you approach. Sometimes sidestepping toward the dog helps. Approach quietly. Don’t say anything. Grab him by the collar and bring him to the evidence, quietly but firmly. Sit him in front of the accident. Don’t say anything.
3. Keep some upward tension on the collar to keep the dog in the “Sit” position. Focus his eyes on the accident. Do not put his nose in front of it, but do firmly orient the dog’s head down toward the elimination. Don’t yell or whine. Keep your voice flat and deep. Focus the dog for just two to three seconds on the mess.
4. After letting the dog raise his head, give a strong tap under the chin or a firm shake under the neck, continue scolding and taking the dog’s collar, march the dog to the appropriate place for elimination. Do not pick the dog up to take him to this area.
5. If you have to put him in the back yard, take him out and then leave. If you have to take the dog down an elevator and onto the street, do it as fast as possible and give him a slight scolding without nagging as you exit. If you are taking him to a paper, say, “This is where you go!” in a low, firm voice, and leave him there. You will find that you only have to stay two or three minutes in the area you have escorted him to. The dog will be so shook up that he will probably not eliminate (he just went in the wrong place) but you have to make the connection for him as to where he is supposed to go.
6. Make the transition from inappropriate area to appropriate area as swift and smooth as possible. Obviously, it is helpful if the distance to be covered is short.
7. When you return, isolate the dog for at least fifteen minutes and clean up after him. Don’t let the dog see you clean up. He shouldn’t be able to because he will be isolated. The only exception is if you are paper training and the dog misses the paper by a wide margin. You then have to discipline, take him to the paper, and then turn and clean up. Even in this instance, try to turn your back to him and make the clean-up swift.
8. After thirty minutes, let the dog have some freedom and be friendly to him, but not overbearing. Don’t try to make up your guilt over disciplining your dog by coddling him at this point. You did what was proper and what his own mother would have done if confronted with such a situation. The correction has been made and the episode is over. This should be your attitude. Any extremes of overbearing or continued nagging will just confuse your dog.