How to train your dog - positively

Dogs will naturally behave like dogs

Most of what our dogs do is entirely natural and what they have always had the freedom to do on the streets:

scavenging for food
barking to defend their territory
guarding what they have
digging and chewing
running free with no lead

So when you get cross and frustrated with your dog for just doing what dog’s do naturally, have a good think about where they the came from and what you are expecting of them. We should never assume that dogs can live in our human world and not behave like dogs!

Your role is to calmly teach your dog how you want him to behave

In order to teach your dog how you want him to behave in your home, you should decide on and set clear and consistent boundaries so that he can learn what is right and what is wrong. If the rules are not clear, or you keep changing the rules, your dog will be confused about what you want him to do.

Now imagine you were teaching a friend to dance. Would you just yell at them every time the took a step wrong? Or would you show them how to do it right and then practice it with them until they mastered it? The same is true for dogs. They need to be shown what you want them to do, then repeat repeat repeat until it becomes learned.

As every good teacher knows, we should not use force or intimidation to cause stress or fear in children if we want them to perform well in school. Well, the same applies to dogs. A fearful or stressed dog does not make good decisions, so we should never use force or physical or emotional intimidation when training our dogs either. All my teaching methods are positive and are backed up by lots of scientific research.

My approach to all dog training is as follows:

Identify why the dog is behaving like this and how long he has been practicing this unwanted habit
Decide what behaviour you DO want from your dog instead
Work out how train that new behaviour and how best to motivate him to practice new behaviour
Develop a plan for how to prevent the unwanted behaviour and encourage the new.

Then the key things to work on at home are:

Reward behaviour that you like

Dogs learn by doing. Behaviour that is rewarded will be repeated. So if your dog does something right, praise and reward him. Once he consistently repeats the behaviour a few times - it is learned!

Rewards can be whatever your dog wants or loves:

affection
treats
toys
playtime

The newer the behaviour, the higher the reward should be, until the behaviour has been repeated enough times that it is now learned. Once it is properly learned, you can gradually ease off the rewards.

So look for opportunities to say “YES” to your dog so you show him what you love.

Here is Otto, bringing me the dropped dishcloth for a reward. (Previously, he used to run off to his bed with it and chew it up.)

2. Ignore or prevent behaviour that you don't like

Behaviour that is not rewarded will decrease in frequency and may even disappear. So, if you see things you don’t like, then don’t draw attention to it with shouting or with punishment (as any attention even negative, can be rewarding for your dog). Calmly turn your back, or remove the dog away from the situation with minimal fuss.

Make sure you do not inadvertently reward unwanted behaviour without realising. Some examples of things we accidentally reward:

Don’t make a fuss of a dog that jumps up at you for attention
Don’t shout at a dog that is barking
Don’t let a dog that pulls on a lead go where he wants
Don’t throw a ball for a dog that is barking at you

Try to avoid saying “NO” to everything as it means nothing to your dog and he can end up feeling very confused. Instead, think of what you DO want your dog to do and train and reward that behaviour instead.

If you shout at your dog for barking you are basically egging him on!

3. Manage your environment to set yourself up for success.

You need to think ahead and manage your environment to give your dog the best possible chance of doing the behaviour you want (so that you can reward it) and prevent them from practicing their unwanted behaviour.

So for example:

if your dog has a naughty habit of snatching food from your hands or plate, make sure your dog is put in another room or behind a baby gate whilst you are eating
if your dog barks at everyone passing the window, then put some screening up or prevent access to the window so that he does not get to practice this.
if your dog has a counter surfing habit, don’t leave the food out on the side that will reward him for jumping up!

By managing your environment you can avoid your dog practicing behaviour you don’t want to see, whilst you are training him to do what you want.

Sounds good in theory, but how does this all work in practice?

This approach is at the core of everything. Once you have grasped the fundamentals, everything gets a lot easier and most of the hints and tips here follow this same method.

For example, let’s say your dog keeps stealing your shoes and running off into the garden with them, expecting you to chase him and every time you try to get your shoe back, he runs off with it.

The new alternative behaviour is for your dog to play with the tug toy instead of your shoe. So make a big fuss and play tug with him every day, so these tug toys will hold lots of value and happy memories.
Ignore your dog when he runs off down the garden with your shoe. Don’t chase him or you turn it into a game. Look thoroughly bored about the whole thing.

But do pick up the tug toy and have a lovely old time throwing it around and running around with it in another part of the garden. When your dog decides your game looks more fun than his game (which he will provided his game is less interesting) you can reward him with a game playing with his tug toy!
Quietly retrieve your shoe from the garden when he has forgotten all about it.
Manage the environment. Make a plan to put your shoes away out of temptation until the habit has gone. Keep tug toys close to hand in case of shoe accidents!

Have a good think about your dogs most frustrating behaviour. Now have a good think about how you can stop saying NO and positively train an alternative behaviour that you DO want to reward. 🐾

Timing and consistency are key

The key to success is making sure your dog understands what you DO want. The sooner he realises that he will not be rewarded unless he does what you want, the more effective your training will be.

So positive training isn't about showering your dog with treats and just hoping he gets it right. It is about making sure your dog makes the connection between the behaviour and the reward, so he CHOOSES to do it again.

eg. "Wow - everytime I go and lie down in my bed in the kitchen, whilst Mum is cooking, I get a treat 🤔 "

Also make sure that what you are offering your dog as a reward is actually rewarding for him. Not all dogs are motivated by food, sometimes your attention is worth much more. If you are asking him to give up the chase of a squirrel for a bit of dried kibble then you won't achieve much success! Here is a great article by Susan Garratt with some ideas.

A typical training plan

Context

Learn the background of the dog and the home
Understand what the problem behaviour is we want to change
Identify what the triggers are for this behaviour and how long he has had this habit

Create a plan

Identifying what we want the dog to DO instead
Work out how we will train and reward that alternative behaviour
Looking at how to manage the environment to prevent the unwanted behaviour and encourage the new behaviour
Work out what to do if the dog still practices the unwanted behaviour

How to measure success

Make sure the goals are sensible and achievable within reasonable timescales
Don't forget to record your progress and celebrate successes!

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