Say Yes To Undesirable Behavior

Say yes to...bad behavior?  

Ok - full disclosure, the title is misleading.  In reality, it's missing a word: "Say yes to extinguish undesirable behavior" would be more accurate. 

If you've been reading Train Hard, Play Always, you know that I love work analogies.  And sit back, grab a snack, because I have another for you. 

We've all had that job, that boss, that relationship where the person in question constantly tells you what you did wrong.  Think about that connection.  Did you enjoy that?  Did they make you anxious?  What could be wrong yesterday, today, tomorrow...striving to excel at exceedingly unidentified criteria...bracing for the next "NO".  

What an anxious relationship, that kind of feedback contrives.  Many people leave these types of jobs, these types of relationships.  To coin a popular analysis, these are considered "toxic" relationships. 

So, why should we expect our dogs to thrive under such a relationship? 

Whenever you say "no" to your dog, they comprehend that "something" has gone wrong IN THIS PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCE.  Dogs do not generalize well, and need our guidance on how to translate specific behaviors into encompassing ones.  When we constantly say no, they can interpret that in a manner of ways.  "Is it ALWAYS no, here and now?" "Is it no, for THIS behavior?"  "Is it no around THIS person/dog?".  The list can continue.

Dogs are thinking, feeling, and communicative beings.  When we focus on the "no" rather than the "yes", we take away their confidence and their ability to think independently.  Thinking with intelligent independence is so productive in any household!  A dog analyzing each situation, remembering positive feedback, and applying with depth and breadth makes each dog-family unit so much more cohesive.  

As such, the answer is SAYING YES.  Praise your dog for positive choices.  Reward them for excellent decisions.  Empower them with positively reinforced applications of behavior.  Your dog is laying on the floor calmly, rather than jumping on the counter to investigate dinner?  REWARD.  Your dog sits by the door when they'd like to go out?  REWARD.  Your dog looks at you when a scary person in a hat comes up the sidewalk?  SAY YES.  Don't neglect these winning opportunities to give positive feedback.  Focusing on rewarding your dog for their positive choices makes all the difference in the world.  It instills confidence and security, grows your relationship, and empowers them to make positive choices in their environment on their own.  They will be more engaged, happy, attentive, inquisitive, and every other adjective used to describe any "up and comer" in a company setting. 

Waiting for your dog to fail is setting your dog up for continued failure. Instead, REWARD FOR THEIR GOOD CHOICES. 

Treat your dog as you would like to be treated.  Tell them what they do right, and continue to build their confidence off of identifiably positive criteria.  Your dog will thank you!

Good Pay - What Makes It Good?

Earlier this month, we discussed how good work deserves pay.  But it bears the question - what exactly is "good" pay?

Good pay is defined by the dog, for each situation/environment that he or she is working in.  The concept of "good" considers the value of the reward, the challenge of the tasks required, and what rate best reinforces your dog for maximum success. 

I am often presented with terrific pet parents who are perplexed by their dog's success in the home, yet utter distraction in the outdoors or in a store.  In considering the concept of good pay, we have to consider the work involved.  It is a common concept that the harder the work, the greater the pay.  Your dog deserves to be compensated at a rate appropriate to the difficulty of hand.  They are very familiar with your living room, which means minimal distraction and an excellent chance of success even with new exercises to teach. In-home, your dog may be happy to work for lower value treats, as there is not as great of a need to either desensitize or generalize to a new environment.  When the stakes are high?  Up your game! 

When taking your dog's show on the road, you need to prepare three things:

1) High-value treats.  This is the big leagues now, so break out the hot dogs, liver sausage, string cheese, boiled chicken, liver brownies, tuna squares, squeaky Wubba, tug toy, etc etc.  Be excited to pay your dog in canine cold hard cash.  Keep in mind that "high-value" does differ for every dog - Aria's most prized reward are generic tortilla chips....weird? Yes.  Do I watch the sodium?  For sure.  If we're going somewhere challenging?  You better believe they're coming with. 

2) The environment at hand.  Are you taking your fearful dog to a park setting? Your leash-reactive dog to a busier street?  Be prepared to work from a successful distance, which means your dog is still interested in the reward.  If your dog is ignoring your high-value reward, then you know it's either A) not high-value enough, or B) they're too close and going over threshold. 

3) Rate of reinforcement.  If your dog is accurately offering the desired behavior in the new environment, please pay them quickly and repeatedly.  Imagine if you only recently got a new job, and you were expected to be accurate out in the field in only a day or two.  Stressful?  Sure thing.  If you were getting paid extra per minute for your hard work invested to being accurate and successful?  Darn straight you would work even harder.  The same goes for dogs.  Pay them fast and well for success in a new setting with new challenges. 

Will all three reinforcement protocols adjust with time?  Absolutely.  Once your dog adjusts to the "new normal": rate of reinforcement goes down, your dog feels more secure in the newer environment, and they begin appreciating more mild rewards.  But it takes the time and effort in the initial (and often ongoing) stages to best help them towards a new level of success. 

Just as good work deserves good pay, consider what is "good" for your dog.  It will help them be the most excited and consistent partner that you can imagine. 

Cultivate A Willing Partner

I am often asked what is the most challenging aspect of training an Alaskan Klee Kai or Siberian Husky.  Both breeds are a personal specialty, and I have relished every minute of training with them.  My answer?  Always using positive reinforcement to bring out the most willing and trusting partner that I can cultivate - and, to ensure that my dogs are open to giving back to me.

When working with Northern breeds, I find that it's crucial to operate in positive modalities.  These breeds are not traditionally motivated by a love of pleasing you; rather, they work best when working in a state that is self-reinforcing, and one that is constructed with their personal interests in mind. 

Having said that, inspiring a mutually beneficial relationship will go a long way with these dogs.  Nothing makes me more proud and happy than having my dogs work with me, of their own volition, in the happiest manner possible. 

Positive reinforcement is the way to go with the Northern breeds.  They are bred to think independently, act accordingly, and to question their handler.  It's this act of questioning that can often be the most frustrating for those who haven't worked extensively with these dogs.  Your Northern breed will always ask "What's in it for me?" or "Why should we do this?".  And you need to show them.  These breeds don't ask for your experience and trust - they demand it.  I find this exhilarating.  The Northern dogs can push their people to be better handlers, better trainers.  It's incredibly rewarding to have my personal dogs and Northern breed clients work happily with me.  These are truly partnership breeds.  My best advice is to never tire of showing them the reward.  Give them all that they have earned when they are giving you their focus and diligence.

While your Northern breeds are quite the teachers when it comes to handlers/trainers and partnership, that doesn't mean that we should neglect our other breeds that openly enjoy partaking for the sake of enjoyable inclusion.  In rescuing Aria, I have a unique opportunity to develop my skills with an innately more willing breed - a lovely Aussie that relishes training with me just for the enjoyment of building that partnership and working as a team.  Even though Aria has a much wider scope of enthusiasm and tolerance with her handler, this doesn't mean that I should neglect to show her the happiness and rewards that comes with training and with being a team.  It is so valuable to take the time to appreciate and maximize Aria's willingness to work and please; and, to show her just how appreciative I am in return.  

So, yes - the Northern breeds are what I call partnership breeds. But? Every dog deserves your partnership.  Training in a positive manner to cultivate your dog's best decisions and actions is the way to develop a wonderful partner for life.