Every dog owner at some point will have a complaint about their dog's training. Dog trainers know this well; they are indeed used to hearing clients making statements such as: ''Rover does extremely well sitting and staying in the backyard, but when he is in the real world, he is completely unreliable'' or ''Lassie does amazing recalls in class but then at the dog park it's as if she takes off her listening ears and does as she pleases''.
You can almost feel the bitterness in these dog owners' voices who have often committed a good amount of time in training their dogs but feel as if their investment has not yielded any returns. And it is understandable; dogs are ultimately animals and they are wired to respond to stimuli, whereas humans are often asking them to perform unnatural acts. However, obedience training is a must in today's world, where a prompt response to a recall may make the difference between life and death.
So what can be done to refine your dog's training to reach that advanced level all dog owners are so eager to achieve? It takes lots of proofing along with patience, consistency and time, but if done correctly, the much wanted results will eventually come.
Tips and Secrets for Proofing Your Dog's Training
A perfect foul-proof response to commands does not happen overnight, just as you won't learn how to speak Japanese in a week or two. The main difference between a well-trained dog and a so-so trained dog is in the amount of time dedicated in proofing. The three D's, distraction, duration and distance, are the challenges dogs must learn to overcome in order to perfect their level of training. Obviously, these need to be incremented gradually and steadily over time. Don't ask too much at once or you will put your dog up to fail!
- Gradually Add Distractions
Create settings with distractions but go slowly and steadily. For instance, you may ask a sit and stay and make slightly distracting body movements, and then, move to bigger body movements such as waving arms, or jumping up and down. You may then move to a distracting area and practice a sit-stay in presence of noises and unusual sights. As you progress, you can try asking a sit-stay with a cat nearby, a bouncing ball, or an excited dog.
- Gradually Add Distance
Most dogs believe that in order to obey to a command they must be close to you. Your dog may know how to sit, but he may have difficulty sitting if you ask it from several feet away. Most likely he may rush near to you and sit. Why? Because he is not used to that. A good way to start distance training is by keeping your dog behind a baby gate or tethered, explains Casey Lomonaco, a certified dog trainer, owner of Rewarding Behaviors Dog Training in Binghamptom, New York.
- Gradually Add Duration
Most dogs have a limited concept of duration when it comes to obeying. They may sit but in their mind they may be thinking ''OK, am I done now?''. The concept of duration is well known in well trained dogs. Seeing-eye dogs, basically dogs assigned to assist the blind, know a lot about duration, indeed they will sit at intersections until the traffic light turns green. Dogs should be trained to obey to a release command, basically a command that lets them know when the exercise is done.
- Establish Stimulus Control
Once you add duration, distance and distractions, (best if introduced in this order) your dog should have a more reliable response. However, good training includes good stimulus control. This means, according to Karen Pryor in her book ''Don't Shoot the Dog,'' that your dog's training meets the following conditions: the dog sits when told to, the dog never sits spontaneously during a training session, the dog does not sit if you are asking a lie down, and the dog does not offer any other behaviors when asked to sit.
As seen, dogs may attain those much admired levels of training many dog owners dream of. With brief, fun training sessions involving clear criteria, good timing, and much anticipated rewards, your dog training can be proofed and reach much desired levels.
References:
Casey Lomonaco, Everything You Wanted to Know About Proofing - But Were Afraid to Ask,
Karen Pryor, Don't Shoot the Dog, Bantam Books,1985
Adrienne Farricelli - Adrienne Farricelli brings expertise in canine topics as a former American Animal Hospital Association employee and certified dog ...
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