Why don't clients see improvements with behavioural modification plans?

There is a common statement that clients will often make in their first consultation or I will over hear at shows, in pet shops and at the park etc that "nothing has worked for their dog". That their behaviour could not be changed or that the training they were given was incorrect, of a low standard, their dog is too naughty or doesn't listen.

Whilst there are some behaviours that are very hard to change, all behaviours can be altered in some way to some extent. These changes are very possible but they require a few things from the people training them.

• A desire to change the behaviour in their dog that is strong enough that they will change their own lifestyle and routines and of course the ability for the owner to do this. 
• A dedication to changing the behaviour that will last as long as the dog lives.
• Hard work and practise.  

Whenever you try to change behaviour it takes time, regular practise and the dedication to keep practising for as long as it takes. In some cases this will be forever.

Having recently embarked on training my dog a new discipline that I have never before attempted and also making the decision that in order to do this I will need to get fit it has really been made clear to me why so many people fail to change their dogs behaviours to the extent they desire.

Training to get fit takes real dedication, committing to regular exercise, forever. Pushing yourself harder and possibly changing your routines and diet to fit with your new way of life. Without this you will not get fit, or you will get a degree of fitness but not what you could ultimately achieve. Of course there is also the fact that if you stop training you will again become unfit.

Training a dog to perform the required behaviours really well also takes all these things. The bigger change you require the more dedication it will take. The things that are required are:

• Real dedication to run through training exercises and situational training every day. 

• To train in alternative and new behaviour that is incompatible with the behaviour you want to change or stop. To keep that behaviour strong by practising it every day.

• To proof the new behaviours so the dog will do them regardless of how hard the situation they find themselves in or what ever distractions are thrown at them.  

• To be ready change personal routines and those of your dog, your expectations for your life with the dog (i.e. that it wont be the easy ride you had anticipated), to realise that the changes you make and the training you commit to will be life long.

In short many people do not or cannot dedicate enough resources to altering their dogs behaviours and thus do not make the improvements they seek. Whilst the right advice and coaching cannot be ignored, it is only effective if the advice and techniques are followed and more importantly practised. 

A great trainer will guide a client through these processes, explaining what is required, talking about how to make changes, what solutions are possible. Teach the client how to train the dog so they can practise, teach the client coping mechanisms for when things don't go to plan. Showing the client how to build on successes and improve the behaviour all the time till the client feels safe, happy and in control.  Make sure they motivate and inspire their clients to keep going because the persistence of trying with the right techniques and support is essential. 

Review - Kathy Sdao "Plenty in life is free"

Kathy Sdao has just launched a book and dvd called "Plenty in life is free" which is an alternative training model to rank/dominance based training models. In the book and dvd she talks about SMART training and how this can be a simple, effective training method.

What is SMART training?

Smart means SEE, MARK and REWARD training. Which means for all the behaviours you wish to reward and increase when you see them, mark them with a word or a click and reward them. This process will increase the behaviours happening more frequently. 

How to use this simple method?

1. Write a list of behaviours that you would like to see my frequently. e.g. dog lying in their bed, dog sitting, dog retrieving balls, 

2. Have some rewards ready, either on your person or at key places around the house.

3. When you see a behaviour you like say "yes" or "good" or click

4. Reward

5. carry on as normal until you see more behaviours you would like to reward and repeat steps 3 and 4.

Who can use this method?

Anyone with any dog. The more observant you are the more frequently the behaviours can be rewarded.

Can I use this method in class?

Yes, SEE, MARK and REWARD training, can be used anywhere, any time. If you are training your dog in class and they do the behaviour or a behaviour near what you would like than you can MARK the behaviour and REWARD. 

Review by Gemma Palmer 

Why has training not worked for your reactive dog ?

Why has training not worked for your reactive dog ?

There are lots of reasons why our dogs might be slow to respond to training or behavioural modification. By incorporating the tips and training methods found in this blog and from the trainers at Sussex County Dog Training your dogs behaviour can improve. Your daily interactions with your dog and your dogs interactions with the world around them will become as you understand your dog more and are able to better shape your dogs behaviour.

There are several barriers to improving your dog’s behaviour these include:

Using the wrong methods - to improve a behaviour on a permanent basis the root cause of the behaviour must be addressed. If the diagnosis of the cause is incorrect or training is simply addressing the symptoms then the real cause will go unresolved and the behaviour problem will continue. Common incorrect diagnosis often include dominance, guarding the owner and being a "bad" dog. Finding out why the dog is behaving in a certain way is step one, identifying the reward to the dog (the dogs reinforcement for performing the behaviour) is step two. Once we have done this we can look at how to reduce or prevent the dogs reinforcement and use appropriate methods to treat the dogs behaviour based on the root cause (such as fear).

Lack of Practice – our dogs may need more practice to become fluent. Dogs need far more practice than most of us realize to really ‘get it’. And, they need to be trained in a variety of environments with a variety of distractions before they understand how to apply knowledge to any situation, this is called generalization.

Lack of Relevance – our dogs can question the relevance of our requests. We need to help them understand that our requests have meaning and consequences to the dog. This may be that a word that means reward or a behaviour that leads to a consequence.

   

Punishment - our dogs may have been consistently punished when s/he behaved in a set way. A good example of this is when your dog barks at someone we punish the dog with a lead jerk and a firm “NO” – if the dogs outburst was caused by fear we have paired an aversive or negative feeling with the person the dog had barked at –not improving but damaging the dogs expectations of future encounters with people. Even if the dog stopped barking it has probably only suppressed its feelings rather than learnt not to do it in the first place. Be aware that using "training" tools which also punish the dog such as check chains, prong collars, citronella collars and electric or e collars will also suppress the behaviour of a dog without curing it. They can cause further mental and physical damage to the dog and carry a heavy negative moral burden.

Lack of Focus– our dogs may not be focused on us enough to hear our requests. They may be under too much stress, suffering from sensory over load or worried about what is going to happen next.

Lack of Impulse Control – our dogs may not have learned how to control their impulses (or self control) around certain distractions yet. If we can improve impulse control we can often reduce reactivity.