Brain Training For Dogs
The Secret to use dog's natural intelligence to stop bad behavior
Does any of the following sound familiar…
· Your dog doesn't listen to you
·
You need to train a new Puppy
·
Your dog barks uncontrollably
·
Your Dog is pulling on the leash
·
Your Dog is aggressive
· Your Dog is chewing things he shouldn't
·
Your Dog is digging all the time
·
Your Dog is Jumping up
·
You're frustrated with your dog
·
You may even regret getting your Dog
·
You're worried you might have to give up your Dog because
of behavior problems you can't handle
·
You feel helpless to control your dog
·
You tell your Dog ‘no’ with no success
·
Your Dog gets over excited and is hard
to settle down
·
Your Dog is whining constantly
·
Your
dog has a fear of certain sounds or stimuli or suffers from anxiety
The science behind bad behaviors is simple.
You may have heard of the idea of ‘neuroplasticity’ in
the human brain.
It's a well established idea researched heavily at Harvard and
other leading universities.
In other words – our brains are like soft plastic – always capable of
molding and changing to learn new habits and behaviors.
Well dog's brain is the EXACT same.
With the right mental stimulation and training… dog's brain will become more open and receptive to learning new
information.
When this happens - your dog's bad behaviors simply fade away as more
desirable ones appear in their place.
The bottom line is…
More intelligent Dogs are better behaved and more obedient
It's the same with children really.
If a child is bored and not stimulated intellectually - they
tend to misbehave and cause trouble.
When you stimulate your dog's mind correctly with a very
specific set of games then:
·
Your dog's problem behaviors can fade away
·
Your dog will be better behaved and more obedient
·
Your dogs ability to learn will skyrocket
·
Your dog's temperament will improve
·
Your bond with your dog will become stronger
· Your dog's health will improve
The secret to making your dog’s problem behaviors disappear
1) Low Value Treats: Are
Your Treats Worth Working For?
It’s a romantic and hard
to debunk myth that dogs work for us just to please us. In reality, as
opportunistic beings, dogs are most likely thinking “what’s in it for me?”
according to the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT). The right use of
treats can really make the difference between a dog who is eager to work and
one who couldn’t care less. The use of low-value treats (such as kibble) can be
detrimental if your dog isn’t excited by them, especially during the initial
stages of learning or when there are distractions around, so make sure your
treats are worthy of attention.
Also remember to stick to
treats which are soft, smelly, and in small bite-sized pieces. This allows your
dog to quickly gobble up the reward and focus his attention back on you, rather
than being distracted by a longer-lasting treat.
A suggestion? Try to use
what respected veterinarian, trainer and writer Dr. Ian Dunbar calls the
Ferrari of dog treats: Freeze-dried liver.
2)
Low Rate of Reinforcement:
Are You Missing Out on Rewarding?
In the initial stages of
learning or when there are lots of distractions around, your dog may find
sniffing the grass, looking around, marking territory and pulling on the leash
more rewarding than training. Why is that? It’s probably because there are
stimuli that are extra interesting and are worth paying more attention to. If
your dog has received little training in the past, he may have been doing this
for a good part of his life. Increasing the rate of reinforcement during
this time by giving your dog more treats for his training efforts may help to
motivate him, and will teach him to pay more attention to you than to the
distracting environmental stimuli.
A low rate of reinforcement can
also cause your dog to get frustrated and give up trying; remember, during the
initial stages of learning you need a continuous rate of reinforcement (giving
rewards for every success), and only once your dog shows signs of responding
well can you move on to a variable
schedule (only giving treats for success every now and then).
3)
High Criteria: Are You Asking Too Much at Once?
This is where the saying
“be a splitter and not a lumper” comes into play. It is often tempting to try
to teach new behaviors all at once in a single evening. When your dog stops
working for you, you start thinking: “Am I asking for too much at once?” Truth
is, often when dogs fail to respond to a command it is because it is too hard
for them. So try not to ramp up the difficulty too quickly; rather, break the
objective down into several attainable steps to help your dog succeed. As an
example, if you were trying to train your dog to touch the tip of a target stick
with his nose, you could reward him for touching ANY part of the stick at
first. Over time once your dog gets a hang of this, you could then move on to
rewarding him only for touching the rounded tip at the top of the stick.
Try your best to prevent
your dog’s progress from stalling, and do not make your training sessions too
long – keep them short and sweet!
4)
High Level of Distractions: Is there too Much Going on?
Dogs learn best when there
are little to no distractions around, so be sure to start your training
sessions in a quiet room where there is not much going on.
Once your dog is able to
perform the behavior in the quiet room, build from there and gradually start
asking your dog to perform the behavior in a noisier room. Then, progress to
the yard, a busy street, the dog park and so forth.
If you start on a busy
street or at the dog park right away, your dog may not respond because you have
not yet built a foundation for the behavior.
5)
Lack of Training: Has Your Dog Ever Been Trained Before?
If the handler has a
history of being inconsistent and not following through with the dog, there’s a
chance the dog may have learned he could get away from certain behaviors and
has learned to ignore the handler. Dogs who have never been trained and have
been allowed to do as they please for a good part of their lives often find the
initial stages of learning difficult, since the concept is entirely new to
them. It is up to the handler to become interesting and worth listening to by
investing in reward-based training methods, like the ones taught in Adrienne
Farricelli’s Brain Training for Dogs course.
6)
Unclear Cues: Are You Confusing Your Dog?
Dogs thrive on
consistency, so make sure you always use the same command cue and
that all other people training the dog are on the same page. If you ask for a
command and your dog just stares at you, consider if that command has a history
of being used consistently.
In classes, it is not
uncommon to encounter a family where the wife uses “come” to call the dog, the
husband uses the dog’s name, and the kids just say “here!” Don’t ask for
behaviors in multiple ways, and make sure your body language is congruent with
the verbal command. Dogs find body language more salient then verbal cues.
Also, try your best not to
repeat commands over and over, otherwise your dog will learn not to listen to
the first time you say it, but will wait for you to finish your sentence
instead!
7)
Frustration Buildup: Are you Getting Frustrated?
Dogs are masters in body
language and they can easily detect frustration. When the handler’s frustration
builds up, dogs often shut down instead of becoming more compliant. In this
case, it helps to ask the dog for a behavior he knows well (such as a sit)
followed by a reward to end the session on a positive note. You can try the
exercise again a little bit later, possibly further splitting the exercise into
smaller sections if it was too hard for your dog.
Also, keep in mind that if
you start raising your voice, bending down or getting into your dog’s face, you
are intimidating him dog and he will feel the need to send you appeasement
signals and default behaviors, rather than listening to your commands.
8)
Emotional Problems: Are Emotions Getting in the Way?
If a dog is fearful,
anxious or nervous, his emotional state may interfere with training. This is
because the dog is often in a fight or flight state which affects his cognitive
function, impairing his ability to learn. In such a case, you may need to work
in areas where your dog is less likely to be frightened and then gradually
introduce more and more stimuli in a way which does not cause him to react.
As an example, if your dog
was frightened of thunder, instead of immediately exposing him to recordings of
thunderstorms on full volume, you should first play them at a very low volume,
where he acknowledges the sound but does not become scared. After rewarding
your dog while the sound is played, you would, over time and numerous training
sessions, increase the volume at which you play the recording. This process is
known as desensitization and
is a common technique used in dog training.
9)
Health Considerations: Is Your Dog in Pain or Uncomfortable?
If your dog ignores you,
he may be feeling unwell or uncomfortable. If your dog has always been obedient
and is now slacking off, it is best to have your veterinarian rule out any
medical problems. Sloppy sits or a reluctance to lay down may be indicative of
orthopedic problems.
Aside from medical
problems, some dogs may not like to be trained on certain surfaces, or perhaps
the weather is too hot, too windy or too cold – there are a multitude of
possibilities. Often, a distracted dog may simply need to relieve himself or
get a drink of water. Consider how well you could perform in an exam if you
were busting to use the bathroom!
10)
Are You Forgetting to Brain Train Your Dog?
Many owners are not aware of this, but when
it comes to dogs, idle minds are the devil’s workshop. Yet many owners are
happy to leave their dogs bored by the fireplace all day, leading to untold
behavior problems. The simple secret to a
well-trained dog is engaging their mind and getting them thinking.
In the wild, before domestication, dogs would spend much of their lives performing tasks necessary for survival. Even in more modern history, dogs had special roles to perform in their relationships with humans. You can still see these natural drives in dogs today! For example, you will notice how beagles love to follow scents, how some terrier breeds love to dig, and how treeing coonhounds bark upon noticing prey up a tree. Unlike humans who perhaps dread the 9 to 5 grind, dogs actively WANT to work, and when they do not, they become prone to behavior problems, disobedience, and poor psychological well-being. Many owners spend THOUSANDS on dog training when the solution could be as simple as providing Rover with more mental stimulation!
As seen, there are many reasons why your dog may not be listening to you. Don’t
quickly label your dog as stubborn, don’t begin shouting commands like a drill
sergeant, and don’t give up training altogether – instead, try to give your dog
a break and consider what may really be going on. A better understanding of how
dogs learn should pave the path to better training.
To train your Dog you can click here.
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