Good Work Deserves Good Pay

"I don't want him to expect a treat every time he does something I ask."

While not a new comment in the dog training world, it's one that I feel like I'm hearing with concerning prevalence lately.  Variations on this may include "He or she shouldn't expect a treat each time they do what they're told" or "I don't want to use food/treats forever."

Let's mull this over, shall we.

Say that you secure a great job that is constantly challenging you in a positive way and requires generalization of job tasks in different places. You're paid very well for your work, and you are happy to do the work your organization asks of you.  After all, you enjoy the diversity and the benefits are great!  A month into your time there, you receive your first review.  Your boss says you're doing extremely well, and they're proud of the work you're doing.  They are also going to start cutting your pay to 75% of what you signed on for.  Um....okay?  You're confused, but you enjoy this job so you keep going.  Two months in, they are still praising you, but they cut your pay to 50%.  Suddenly, the challenges aren't as exciting as they are draining.  The travel and generalization begin taking their toll, and you aren't as motivated to perform as well as you did at the beginning.  As your apathy grows, tasks begin to slip through the cracks, and management begins to write you up.  

Can we envision this? It seems impossible that the situation would occur, and we can't imagine why someone would work (even doing work they love) for less and less pay.  Yet, it's something that can happen during training with your dog.  

​Rewards are a dog's paycheck, and whether that is treats or toys, we need to give our dogs a motivating salary.  When the work is especially difficult, we pay them more for their hard work.  When the work is easy, the paycheck is smaller or in less frequent intervals.  But we still identify a reward schedule that is motivating for our dogs.  ​

Too often, treats are cut out quickly, and I hear that "My dog only does [X] when I have a treat ready".  That tells me that their rewards stopped abruptly, and they don't understand why they should do a task they aren't paid for.  Consistently rewarding your dog is not a deficit in training.  As someone who trains and competes with her dogs in various sports, I fully understand that the timing of rewards cannot be constant in a competition setting.  But I would never expect my dogs to run a full agility course without payment, when I had previously been rewarding them after every obstacle.

So, what is one to do?  Vary your reward schedule.  Instead of each time your dog sits, it becomes every two sits, or every four obstacles, or every 15 steps in heel.  And it's a BIGGER payment than your dog received for the individual actions.  Say we're at that job again, the job that has been decreasing our pay.  If the job changed to bi-monthly pay, but a little more each pay period?  We'd still be all in!  The same goes for our dogs.  When we need to alter the reinforcement schedule, it needs to be mindful and have more impact.  

You can certainly fade a food lure and alter a singularly high rate of reinforcement, it just needs to be thoughtfully done and still offering enticing motivation to your dog.  Utilizing surprises also will keep your dog excited - give treats or toys on a variable schedule, keeping their interest.  

Good work deserves good pay.  Build the relationship you want with your dog through positive reinforcement!

Reactive Rover: Distance Is Positive

When training reactive dogs and their people, one of the most beneficial and simple things I encourage clients to remember is: distance is their friend.  It's so encouraging to see a dog have success, and success typically occurs when the trigger is farther away at first.  

As example, let's assume you are terrified of snakes.  With that in mind, does knowing that there are 30ft snakes in another country keep you up at night or stop you from your daily business?  Very likely not.  Distance is the key.  If you were hiking and came across a huge snake, that would be a completely different story.  Your reaction would be instinctual, would doubtfully be controlled or at ease.  The same goes for dogs. 

When a dog comes in close proximity to their trigger, it can be very challenging to manage their reactions.  But with distance, the trigger may not be so concerning, and the client will be able to work with them on desensitization and counter-conditioning.  To hear that a dog is having progress at a distance is a GREAT THING.  There is always time to reduce distance - the most important thing is to eliminate rehearsals of challenging behavior by giving your dog the space he or she needs to be successful in their training.  Keep your pup working at a distance where they can take treats and complete the tasks at hand, and their progress will be measurable!

Marking Inside? Reward Your Dog To Housetraining Success

You've recently adopted a dog, or your dog who you've had for quite some time has discovered the fascination with leaving p-mail around your home.  Contrary to some popular belief, marking is not exclusively a male dog activity, nor is it an intact male dog activity.   Regardless, it's important to positively teach dogs to mark outside only:

1) Always monitor your dog around your home. Confine him or her into whichever room you are in, and keep an eye on him while you both are together.  If you are moving about, tethering can often be a helpful tool.  Crating is one of the ultimate house training assistants, as a crate provides security and house training enhancement.  Often, breaks in house training occur when the dog is unobserved - a dog out of sight is a dog who could be giving signals that are going unanswered. 

2) To add to that, closely observe his or her marking behaviors when outside. Is he or she a double-turner? A persistent sniffer? Does he or she get a certain spring in their gait when preparing to mark? Keeping video logs that you can playback and take notes from are excellent for learning your dog's body language when he or she is going to mark. Then, you can redirect him or her when they start showing those signals around the home. When you see him or her start their "signature move", redirect him or her verbally and then take them outside. 

3) When he or she is outside, reward them for marking! While this may sound counterproductive on the outset, it's teaching them that marking outside is MUCH more desirable than marking inside. Dogs like to be rewarded, they like to be paid. If he or she is making big bucks marking outside, and NONE inside? All of a sudden marking indoors gets less and less rewarding. 

4) Emphasis on catching sniffing is a big thing when I'm coaching house training. Dogs can smell the floor/couch just fine from a standing position, and as he or she gets used to the smells around your home, there isn't a need for excessive sniffing. If at any point you see him or her really getting into a smell, it's likely that they're deciding if they want to leave a p-mail. Redirect him or her appropriately with food or toys, to help distract them from leaving their thoughts behind.

5) Accidents and marking need to be cleaned up with an enzymatic cleaner. Nature's Miracle, Simple Solution, and Rocco & Roxie are three popular brands, and this step is crucial to promote success in house training. Without enzymatic cleaning, your dog will be able to easily remember where he or she left their last message - and, they may want to produce an addendum. 

6) Keep him or her on a clear schedule, taking the opportunity to notice when they have big drinks of water. He or she will likely need to go out soon after.

7) It's worth experimenting with adding a DAP diffuser to your home. Excessive marking can frequently be a sign of anxiety, and a DAP diffuser can aid in stress relief.

​These seven tips can greatly assist with the house training process, and aid in eliminating marking from you dog.  Happy house training!