What Is Modern Dog Training?
What is Modern, Force-Free Dog Training?
Here it is….my first official blog post. I’ve got lots of topics to cover as I dive into this project, but I thought it would be best to start with the training method. What is modern, force free dog training?
In short, modern dog training, also called force free dog training, is training without the use of force, intimidation, fear, or pain. The training is about teaching—and learning— through relationship building, trust, respect and understanding.
Understanding is the most important part of dog training. Knowing why your dog behaves in a particular way is the foundation for changing that behavior. I find that most problem behaviors occur because we do not understand why the behavior is occurring in the first place.
Let’s briefly look at how dogs learn. Dogs learn a lot like we do. They repeat what they are rewarded for and they avoid or disengage from what isn’t reinforcing. Need an example?Consider counter surfing. The dog puts his paws up on the kitchen counter and gets a lick of toast crumbs and a dribble of jelly. The dog learns that the kitchen counter is a rewarding place and repeats the behavior. Putting paws on a counter is reinforced by getting a lick of leftovers. Understanding the dog has a certain level of curiosity and if physically able, I think we can all agree, he will at least investigate the counter again.
The traditional way of handling this behavior would be as follows: owner catches dog with his paws on the counter; owner yells or swats at the dog; dog gets off the counter and walks toward owner. The dog repeats the behavior the next day; owner verbally scolds dog for being on the counter, this time with a little collar shake; dog sulks away from the owner. What the owner might notice over time is the dog does not get on the counter in their presence, but still gets on the counter when no one is looking. What has the dog potentially paired the punishment with, their behavior or the presence of the owner? What could be possible fall out from using this approach? Could the dog become fearful of the owner?
You can see where this is going. The dog has paired the punishment with the owner and associating the punishment with the presence of the owner becomes a twofold problem. Certainly the dog may continue to get on the counter when the owner is not around, but the problem is more complex than that. The may may also lose trust in the owner or worse, become fearful of the owner.
A more modern approach to this unwanted behavior would be to stop it before it starts or teach an alternative behavior that is not compatible with getting up on the counter.
Here are some possibilities
- use barriers so the dog is not allowed in the area unsupervised
- teach an automatic sit when the owner and dog are near counters together
- teach the dog to stay behind a threshold or other boundary
- teaching the dog a “go to place” behavior
- be diligent about not leaving potential reinforcers on the counter should the dog decide to investigate
Modern, force free dog training is not about becoming a Pez dispenser of treats. It’s about teaching the animal appropriate behaviors through use of reinforcers the dog finds valuable and managing the environment around the dog while training is taking place. Focus on building a solid relationship of trust and setting the dog up to succeed and learn, not fail and be punished.
Until next time,
Train don’t complain!
Mandy Eakins KPA CTP, CPDT-KA, FP-MT