Positive Reinforcement. Positive Punishment.

I wanted to take a few moments to talk about some of the basics of Operant conditioning, the system that I utilize to teach and train dogs. When I began to use operant conditioning, I immediately noticed a significant difference in how quickly my dogs and clients dogs learned but also how much more readily the dogs complied with the commands once given. This system, in my opinion, is the best way to teach and train dogs bar none.

Today I am going to cover positive reinforcement and positive punishment. First off, I think it would help to know exactly what positive means. Positive, in this situation, means to simply give something. It does not mean good or bad, just to introduce something into the system. Reinforcement means to utilize something that gets the behavior to continue to happen. This is a way to teach a behavior and also have the behavior to continue to happen once it is learned. Punishment is utilized when you want behaviors to stop. So you use this when you see behaviors that you no longer want to happen.

What is positive reinforcement? Positive reinforcement is when you give something to the subject to have it continue to do a behavior. For example, I tell my dog Fritz to sit, he does, so I then give him a tub of ice cream. The positive aspect is me giving him the ice cream. The reinforcement comes from the enjoyment he feels from eating the ice cream. As you continue to use this method to teach the dog, you will see that the dog begins to do the behavior more readily as it discovers what it has to do in order to receive what it wants. When you use positive reinforcement, it helps reduce stress and frustration.

What is positive punishment? Positive punishment is when you give something to the subject to have it stop performing a behavior. For example, Fritz runs out the front door so I in turn give him a correction from a training collar. The positive aspect is me delivering pressure from the collar. The punishment comes from how he does not enjoy, but rather dislikes, the pressure from the collar. As you use the positive punishment this will in turn make the dog avoid the situation, thus stopping the behavior from continuing. Using positive punishment creates stress and ultimately avoidance.

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I'm so frustrated

As I train more and more dogs, I have really begin to appreciate more how they learn and how they handle stress. I have noticed that dogs that have had a pretty rough past typically get stressed out very easily and that is when they usually try to bite me. Then you have dogs that are totally uneducated but they have had a fairly positive lifestyle. These dogs typically look forward to the challenges I present to them and try to work it out. When they do work the problem out, everyone can see how happy the dog is that it did it and how much faster the dog responds the next time it sees the same challenge. One of the many tools I like to use on dogs is their ability to handle being frustrated. Now with the dogs with some sort bad past, I have to be very careful, because otherwise I may have a few extra holes in me or a few less fingers. The dogs that can handle the frustration, will learn so quickly that seeing them work through the problems many times gives everyone involved a huge sense of satisfaction.

One of the aspects of being able to reach higher levels of frustration with a dog is using something that the dog values very highly. That is why I recommend finding out what your dog really enjoys so that he will try his best to solve the problems you present to him. I don't think it is enough to just go buy some dog treats and think that your dog will like them. Take your time and present your dog with various kinds of rewards and let him tell you what he likes. Once your dog knows he can access these rewards you will begin to see how motivated the dog becomes.

Another aspect to consider is how you over time increase the dogs ability to handle frustration. One of the games I play with my six year old dog has taught me so much about this. When my dog was just a puppy she really didn't care for food that much. She would routinely leave the food in the bowl only to eat it many hours latter. Today, when she gets the bowl of food, I am lucky that she doesn't try to eat the metal bowl. I got to this point being doing a few things. One i only feed her once a day. I also, early on, placed a time limit on how long the food would be available to eat. Next I taught her to sit and wait until I told her to she could eat. Now days, I almost always wait until drool is running down onto the floor for me to release her to eat. Her ability to be frustrated now makes her have such a high level of desire that when i teach her difficult behaviors she stays connected with me instead of simply giving up.

I do have to say that in the moment the dog and even I probably don't enjoy the frustration, but i think that when the dog actually receives what is was working for that in that moment the sense of accomplishment makes it all worth while.

If you would like to see some of these techniques in action be sure to contact us at Longoriahaus Dog Training. I also routinely send out dog training tips on Twitter. Be sure to follow us their.

I feel you.

I am constantly amazed by all the different ways that dogs can learn. For the most part I am always teaching people that dogs use their nose, eyes and ears to perceive their environments. One other area that really does interest me is how they can feel different textures and elevations. Just like you and I can feel textures and changes in elevation the dog can sense the same thing too and it can be used to teach the dog several useful behaviors.

One of the areas you can use a texture to teach your dog what you want is when you need it to go in it's crate. Most people typically force their dogs into a crate and then close the door. What I recommend is repeating the process of rewarding the dog for going into the crate and not closing the door. The way I go about teaching my dogs this skill is by using a high value reward like a piece of cheese or some hot dog and then luring them into the crate. The moment the dog puts its first paw onto the bottom of the crate you want to use your conditioned reinforcer and then let the dog come and receive it's reward from you. Keep repeating the process for each time the dog touches the bottom of the crate and reward the dog without closing the door. As you practice this skill more and more your dog will begin to rush into the crate each time you ask. Eventually you will be able to close the door on the crate without all the fuss to get your dog in there.

If you have questions about what your dog could possibly learn, contact us at Longoriahaus Dog Trainingand you can also follow us on Twitter.

Make a Mistake. I dare you.

Why do we not like it when our dogs make mistakes?  Why do we try to prevent them from being in error?  I find myself asking people this question all the time.  I see people doing all types of things to prevent their dog from committing an error.  Many times they get frustrated just trying to control the dog with force or blocking the dog with pressure.  The one place I almost always see this behavior is at entrance and exits to the home.  So many dogs just run out the door and then are being chased down the street to get them to come back.

So how should you deal with the front door?  How do you get the dog to stop rushing out the door each and every time you try to open it?  The answer for me is to teach the dog that going out the front door is not good.  I actually let and want the dog to go out the door.  Most people would consider this to be a mistake, and if the dog knew that you didn't want him going out the front door then it would be a mistake.  So I prepare the myself for teaching the dog by having a leash, some treats and a little bit of patience.  First thing I am going to do is make sure that the leash is on nice and snug at the top of the dogs neck.  Then have a few of the dogs favorite treats  to reward him.  Finally, I want to give myself some time in my training session to let the dog use his head to figure out the problem.

Once you have the leash, a few treats and some patience you can get started.  Be sure you are holding the leash in your hand as you approach the the door.  Do your best to have slack in the line.  Then open the door.  Your dog will probably be ready to go out the door at this point.  Let him. The moment that the dogs paw touches anything on the other side of the door frame, like a floor mat, tell him "no" and then turn him around and bring him back inside.  This will most likely happen a few times before the dog decides to hesitate a little bit.  As the dog continues to go out the front door continue to tell him "no" the moment he touches the floor mat and then turn him around.  Once you see the dog hesitate for a moment at the door you want to give the dog a reward as you move away from the door on the inside of your home.

I have seen many dogs get this behavior down fairly quickly if you spend the time for a couple of weeks teaching them this.  I would recommend doing this once every other day for a couple of weeks.

If you would like to get more training tips or have me help you with your dog visit us at www.Longoriahausdogtraining.com

Learning about your new puppy - What makes him move.

What an exciting time this is.  You have your new furry buddy.  He still has that puppy breath and you are starting your new life together.  This has to be one of the happiest moments you've had.  So should you start training your dog now or just let him be a puppy?  Well for me the answer is yes to both.  Teaching your puppy how he is going to learn is very important at this stage.  I also believe allowing him to be a puppy is very important.

One of the first things I want to determine is how much my puppy likes different kinds of food. So I will generally take 4 to 5 different foods and test them on the dog.  First I make sure the dog has not recently consumed anything.  After that I will get the food and treats ready.  Once I have done this and will go get my puppy.  I will take a bit of two different treats and place it in either hand and close my hands around them.  Then I will bring each one to the dog and let him smell it individually.  After I have done that for each, I will place each hand side by side and open them at the same time.  Make sure you note the one you dog chooses and repeat the test at least 2 more times.  Go through all of the different treats until you have all the foods ranked from highest value to lowest.  This information is vital to understanding what your puppy likes and starting to motivate him to be with you.

Pay me or Make me.

I am always thinking about new ways to better train my dog.  How can I explain a concept better to him?  Obviously I cant speak English to him since he really does not grasp it the way we do.  So I am left with understanding how he perceives things. So I have his nose, eyes, ears and his ability to feel things.  Most of the time, I use his nose and eyes to show him what it is that I am trying to define to him.  Other times I have to use his sense of touch to get him to do what I want.  So this brings me to my point, will I use his nose and eyes or will I use his ability to feel?

So early on in training with my dogs I often used their ability to feel to get them to do things.  Plainly said, I used force.  I will admit that my dog often got the concept pretty quickly.  I did come to the realization over time as I trained more dogs that some of them would quickly decide that they didn't care for the training and would rather do something else than work for me.  In essence my dog looked at training as if it was chore with no real sense of accomplishment. My dog was not a partner in obedience but a slave.

Now what about using the dogs nose and eyes to get the job done?  I will say that this requires a bit more thought on my part but is it worth it.  When I define things to my dogs using this ability it seems that they just come alive.  Some of the new behaviors that the dog starts to show early on are increased confidence, super important if you ever want to do something difficult with you dog, and the dog begins to come to me more readily.  Over time I see that the dog actually begins to look forward to the time we will be working as opposed to dreading it.  No longer will I have my dog be a slave in obedience but a partner in conquering whatever may come my way.

How will you choose to teach your dog?  Will you get him to do it or will you motivate him to use his brain and be partner in obedience?

Great dog food

I have run the gambit of dog foods with Jasmine since I got her six years ago.  I first started with foods loaded with grains and corn and a ton of food colorings. Then buying food that had a picture of a German Shepherd Dog on their bag.  Finally discovering something that has really been great for her.

I will admit that this food is the right food for her but may not be exactly what works for your dog.  So the food that best suites Jasmine is Wellness Core.  There are several things I enjoy about the food.  The first several ingredients are actually meat.  Note some by product, real meat.  Then the fat is not some mysterious "animal fat" but actually fish and chicken fat.  When I think about fat for the dogs, I try to remember that my dogs are like athletes and need a great source of fat to keep them working hard.  Then they have probiotics and antioxidants.  I want my dogs digestive system to work well and want its immune system fighting stress.

If you are looking for a great dog food, try searching for something with actual meat at the top of the list, a good source of fat and carbs, and finally some probiotics and antioxidants.