How to train your dog. Teach him to look to you for instruction.

How to train a dog  – part 1

So, how do we train a dog? How do we help him to learn? A dog is a relatively straightforward creature whose behaviour is driven almost entirely by instinct, seeking rewarding experiences or avoiding unpleasant experiences. In many ways this is true of humans as well, except that we then moderate our behaviour through cognition. The most helpful way to think of your dog in terms of his behaviour is to try to ascertain one of two things:

  1. What reward does he get from a particular behaviour (or set of behaviours)? And/or
  2. What negative consequence is he trying to avoid by behaving in this way?

This sounds easy until we consider our own ability to bestow our dogs with human-like cognition. When asking how to train a dog to any new behaviour – or away from any unwanted behaviour – we might do well to begin by asking what the behaviour means to the dog. What is his motivation?

Scenario one

A ‘first-time offender’ destructive, home-alone dog may cringe and look guilty on our return, but not because she knows she’s done something wrong. Indeed, the destructive behaviour may have occurred long before our return and is not front of mind at all for the dog. It was just a comforting behaviour (the reward) in the anxiety (or boredom) of being left alone.

Indeed, if we come cheerfully and without reaction into the scene of devastation, the dog will likely be entirely focused on greeting us as usual (big reward) and will do nothing to try to avoid bad things happening. In her mind, there is no reason for bad things to happen at that moment of joyous reunion. 

But we don’t often enter with the keep calm and carry on approach! We see the destruction and react with shock/anger/frustration/blame. The dog doesn’t know why we are cross, but she senses our displeasure entirely and reacts with appeasing behaviours. These might include making herself look smaller, yawning, lip licking, avoiding eye contact, and even passing urine if we’ve really scared her.

From then on, homecoming has the potential for bad things to happen and becomes a time of joy mixed with anxiety. She becomes very sensitive to our ‘tone’ and reacts accordingly. It’s easy for us to think that she is thinking, “I’ve done wrong”, when, in fact, they are just aware that *something* is wrong.

Why the Confusion?

A dog doesn’t understand the difference between naughty and good. She only knows how to be a dog, and a dog will often chew when she is bored, lonely or anxious. The chewing isn’t naughty, any more than a toddler at playgroup sucking his thumb is naughty. It’s a doggie way of dealing with stress or creating self-comfort and pleasure. That’s a big reward.

If we don’t want dogs to chew our stuff we need to relieve their boredom/loneliness/anxiety in ways that we find acceptable. Offer a bigger, better activity that will bring its own comfort and stimulation.

And then there is the language barrier. Almost all doggie ‘disobedience’ is the result of either confusion or having something better to do that they are already engaged in. I have my doubts that they are ever just being stubborn or naughty.

We ask dogs to do all kinds of things without really bothering to show them what we want. We assume that their understanding of some of our words is – at least to a degree – the same as ours. Not so. Take the confusion generated by our use of the one word that is their name.

Scenario two

We bring home our gorgeous puppy, and part of that exciting ritual is choosing a name. For us naming things is meaningful. Our name is deeply embedded in who we are and who we are perceived to be by others. So, the puppy (let’s call him Stanley) gets a name that has meaning to us. And then…

(happy, excited tone) “Hello Stanley!”

(alarmed tone) “Stanley! Stanley! Don’t do that!”

(frustrated tone) “Oh Stanley… outside now!”

(increasingly desperate tone) “Stan…ley… Stanley come… Stanley, come here… Stanley! Now!… STANLEY!”

Now… assume you cannot rationalise language. That it only has meaning to you if it’s taughtattached to something precise and used consistently. Then look at what we’ve taught Stanley about his name. Absolutely nothing! Except that it’s a sound he hears a lot, a sound that often comes with a shedload of emotion. A sound that has confused meaning… it becomes white noise, and he tunes it out! Or worse it makes him feel anxious because he’s associated it with us being frustrated with him. This is how to train a dog *not* to pay attention to you when you speak his name. 

How could it be different?

A dog cannot understand the concept of a name. His name must *mean* something to him to be of any importance. The most logical and helpful meaning we can attach to it is probably “look at me” (I want your attention). Then we can get Stanley’s attention in any situation and once we have it, follow up with a second (separately taught) request, depending on the situation.

The most common meaning we actually attach to a dog’s name is come here (95% of clients interviewed use their dog’s name for recall), which is fine until we also use it to tell him off or ask him to stop doing something. Imagine if Stanley has learned that “Stanley” means “come here” and then we say “Stanley, on your bed” in a stern voice and point away from us!

Confusion, confusion, confusion. Many dogs don’t do what they are asked to do because they don’t really understand what we want from them.

Depending on what you are training you can keep the language out of it to begin with. Use a hand signal. Shape the behaviour by marking the moment your dog does something akin to the behaviour you want with a clicker or a soft whispery “Yes!” Then reinforce that every time with food.

You can always perfect it later. You can always attach a word later. But while they are working hard to learn, keep their head uncluttered with meaningless language. You can reduce the frequency of the food as practice progresses, but working for ‘treats’ is a life-long joy for many dogs.

We will look more at the things that impact training in part 2 of How to Train a Dog.

How to train a dog