"Fun Stuff" From My Class Yesterday

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Yesterday was our first class...no dogs for the first session.  I had such a great time.  This trainer (a woman who has been training for 39 years) is hysterically funny.  There are six of us in the class, and we laughed for 90 minutes straight.  There was very little discussion of actual "training"....it was mostly her talking in general about dogs.  Here are a few of the "tidbits" she had to share...

• Dogs learn by "guiding/prompting" or by what she terms "overlay".  Overlay is when a particular behavior occurs and we then assign a value or word to it, and she believes this is a very effective way of teach.  So, if your dog lays down, and you say "down" immediately with a "Yes", eventually they will associate that word with that action.  She said it's often misused because humans aren't clear about what they're communicating.  For example...Murphy barks, and I say in an excited voice "quiet".   He has no idea what that word means, but if I do it often enough every time he hears the word "quiet" he will think he should be barking.  So, dog barks, human says "quiet", dog barks again, human says "quiet", and on and on.  If you wait until the second the dog stops barking and then say "quiet" it will create the correct association.  Obvious, right.  I never thought of it that way. 
• She doesn't "pay" the dog for doing what's expected, but she does "pay well" for the "hard stuff".  So, for short sits or downs, or walking well on a leash no pay (treats).  For recalls, a big payout.  She said she never paid her kids for making their bed or picking up their dishes.  That's an expectation because you're putting a roof over their head, feeding, them and giving them love.  But if they go out and wash the car, the get paid because that's "extra".  She treats her dogs the same way.
• She talked about the 3 "D"s of training....duration, distance, and distraction. 
• She thinks that "focus" as defined by having the dog look at you is overrated.  She says in the real world the dog will probably not be looking at you when you MOST need them to behave, so requiring them to look at you during training doesn't buy you much.
• She shared a story of a woman who had recently called her and said "each day when the kids get home from school, the dog grabs their papers and runs away with them".  The trainer said "EVERY day?".....the woman said "yes, EVERY day".  The trainer asked how long this had been going on, and the woman responded "quite a while".  She wanted to know what to do about it.  She told the woman to just NOT LET THE DOG DO IT....EVER AGAIN!  Everything your dog does, he does because in that moment in time, in that situation he thought it was the right thing to do.  The best way to change the dog's behaviors is to prevent the dog from practicing them.  She told her to crate the dog when the kids get home or to keep a leash on him.  This true of so many inappropriate household behaviors.  It's all about supervision, supervision, supervision.  She explained why she did not recommend using commands for "household rules".  Very interesting.
• "In our training, all your dog has to do is breathe".  We're going to show him exactly what to do every time.  That's a whole discussion of it's own.
• The most difficult challenge is going to be to learn to react appropriately when a dog is acting inappropriately because they are "not thinking"....when a chemical reaction has "taken them over".  That's my Murph (and there are two other dogs with the exact same issue in the class).  I can't wait to learn more about this.

So, those are just a few "tidbits" from yesterday.  Fun stuff...some pretty basic, but some thought provoking.  I think her style is totally aligned with my private trainer, so I have no worries about that.  He will be around other "reactive" dogs....great distractions.  More to come.  I'm hopeful that this along with the private trainer will help us to turn the corner.  I'm forever the optimist. 

[Carol and Banjo]

It sounds like you had a very good start Jane!   I'd love to find something similar in our area, but unfortunately trainers are far and few between here.   I really like the theory of "overlay" it makes so much sense.   I do think we tend to "talk" too much to our dogs.  I've been making a conscious effort to keep my mouth closed and also to use body language...even very subtle moves and facial expressions are picked up by our dogs.    Also, the "pay well" theory is great!   I'm going to start "saving" those treats for the "biggies".    Thanks so much for sharing your experience with us!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Carol, I talk too much too!  My trainer has basically told me to "shut up"...not in so many words, but I got the message.  He actually told me this week to pretend I was an "American Cowboy"....he said, you know the way they are strong but silent.  HA HA, hard to not get THAT message.

[Sandra Griffith]

Thank you for sharing all of this from your class.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

We had our first class yesterday too - for CGC. Peri was a hellian for the first 15 minutes because her friend Kona the labradoodle from daycare was about to jump her and she got all googly-eyed.  Finally settled into "training mode".  Shoudl be interesting....

[Carla & "Beans"]

Jane, I so enjoyed reading this!  Thanks for taking the time to type it out/share.  Can't wait to hear more!

[Jodi and Stella]

Wow, I wish I had a trainer like that. Please share more valuable tidbits!

[Adina P]

Definitely agree with the whole 'focus' thing. I don't care if my dogs stare at me -- but they often do it on their own to help themselves.  Like yesterday when during Boca's sit stay I put a plate of food down next to her and one right in front of her, under her nose (on the floor).  She just stared at me to keep from looking at the food =)  When I'm walking them (whether in heel or not) I want them to relax and enjoy their surroundings...look where they are going rather than staring at me.  When in a down stay, I want them to relax and look where they want...I only care if they leave their position not where they look.  It's up to them to learn to keep themselves in place even if something really enticing is catching their eye.

 

I also totally agree with NOT letting the dog practice bad things.  The story of the dog who stole the kids papers cracked me up.  How does someone LET their dog do that for soooo long?  You'd think the kids would have done better at hiding their papers from the dog too--well unless they were relieved to have them stolen ;-) LOL

 

 

 

 

[Lauria Orr]

LOL!  Yes, Adina, I could just see me as a kid...putting gravy on my school papers so my dog would run off with them! 

 

Jane, what a great class!  This sounds wonderful, and I would love it (if you have time) to hear more from you about this class!  Thank you for sharing your experiences!

[Donnie]

The most difficult challenge is going to be to learn to react appropriately when a dog is acting inappropriately because they are "not thinking"....when a chemical reaction has "taken them over".  That's my Murph (and there are two other dogs with the exact same issue in the class).  I can't wait to learn more about this.

I'd like to hear more about this when the time comes.  McGee gets like this sometimes, like his brain just turns off.  We start class in a couple of weeks, hope they cover this too.  I hope my instructor is half as thorough as yours sounds!

[BG and Gavin]

Love these tidbits!  Keep them coming!

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

Wow...great information Jane!  We will be anxious to hear what you learn in the next class.  I really get it now on the barking stuff.  Gracie is not a barker except only when a STRANGER walks past the house.  People she knows is not a problem.  We have low windows so she can stand there in full sight and see everything in the entire neighborhood.  She barks and I yell "Gracie...NO!" from another room.  Then she barks again and it continues until I get up and come into the room she is in and put my hand on her.  I am not sure I understand the timing.  Do we wait until the dog is completely through barking and then say "quiet" or like you said, the second they stop?  Aren't we still doing the "Bark"..."Quiet"..."Bark"..."Quiet" that we are already doing?

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I think what she was saying is that if you wait until the second the dog stops barking and say Quiet and "yes", he begins to associate that word with the action of stopping his barking and that you've told him that it was what you wanted.  It's the same as catching your puppy the second they sit, and saying "sit" yes.  They start putting that sound or word with the action.  Eventually, after enough repetitions, they'll just combine the word and the action.  Another example would be when you say "get busy" or "potty" as soon as your dog starts to go (and you do it over and over).  Eventually, they'll associate that word with the action.  If you introduce the word too soon (before they have made the association), they yes you're back to the "bark..quiet...bark..quiet" scenario.