Theory: Dog Training Best Practices

We abruptly stop rewarding the behaviour with food, as soon as the dog masters it.

We use the clicker word to mark the dog's success and only 1 second after we've said the word, does the food appear. 

Reactive

Proactive

True

False

We mean the owners should ask themselves, before asking the dog to perform in a given situation (training), whether they have the time/patience/desire/head-space to make this a learning moment? 

We mean that the owners should altogether avoid situations that need improvement.

We mean that the owners should seek difficult situations to train the dog in, so that he gets used to it. Situations that the dog can't handle at all are better as they lead to more rapid progress. 

Give the dog Combat treats (e.g. cheese) only on training night. 

Turn the medicated diet into Combat treats (e.g. make it into a paste, add salmon oil). Get them to ask their vet first. 

Keep working with the medicated diet, even at the field and even if it means dog and owner are getting frustrated

The clicker is like fertiliser for your training efforts. The more you use it, the more the dog wants to perform for you. 

The clicker is like a box of chocolate. You never know what behaviour you're going to get out of it

The clicker is like the shutter of your camera. The moment you click is like the moment you click on a camera. Imagine you are taking a picture of the behaviour you want. 

Soft and soggy

Hard and crunchy

Time for training

Time for management

The financial economics of dog training: best practices on how to manage a profitable dog training school or behaviour practice

The science defining the limits to the amount of behaviour or training practice you can conduct in a time period.

The science of incentives. Central question: How much work is a reward worth? i.e. The dog gave you million dollar effort, you have to pay a million dollar treat.

A short behaviour therapy consultation on the field, to help owners who can't afford behaviour therapy. We might not be able to help completely (or responsibly) in such a short period of time, but at least they are getting some kimd of help. 

A mini-behaviour therapy consultation on the field, because most owners sign up to obedience training hoping to get help with behaviour problems. As it is good customer service, we do it eventhough we know it won't cover the problem responsibly in such a short time. 

Quick tips based on Best Practices, to 'stop the bleeding', to stop the behaviour, the safety and/or the animal welfare problem from getting worse. If more than a few minutes are needed, we advise the owner to send the school an e-mail. 

Really easy, to keep the dog in his comfort zone. 

Really hard, to keep the dog improving. 

Challenging, but not impossible

True

False

True: This gives a pleasant sense of variety to the students and prevents the dogs from getting too wound up and/or bored. 

False: This gives a perception of chaos to the students, who prefer the predictability of separating active and passive exercises from each other. 

Least Impossible Method Available

Least Insane Method Available

Least Interesting Method Available

Least Invasive Method Available

We frown upon the use of the word 'no' and it has no place in raising and training a dog.

When all else fails, it is perfectly OK

It is fine to say no, as long as it is effective. If you have to repeat, then it's time to look at more strategic methods.

Time for training

Time for management

The distraction situation is particularly challenging

The dog is performing effortlessly in the current situation. 

The dog gets really excited about food treats. 

True: That is what we stand for and tell our students. 

False: This is oversimplistic. 

A high-value reward you give when you were certain the dog couldn't do it, and he didn't do it. To keep him encouraged. 

A high-value reward you give when  you were certain the dog would do it, and he did. When the dog performed effortlessly. 

When your toes are curling as you were not sure the dog can do it and still he did. 

When the owner 'keeps the dog in kindergarden', asking the dog to perform far below his/her capabilities.

When the owner gives the dog a command and the dog is incapable of complying (generally because he hasn't been taught the command fluently enough)

True

False

Yes: Once you've clicked, the dog could be robbing your grandmother and stealing your credit card to buy stuff on-line, you need to give the treat. Be more careful about your timing next time. 

No: You could be reinforcing the barking otherwise. 

The command

The (human) student's name

The dog's name

The clicker word

'No', 'Foei', etc. 

Distance between dogs - minimum 2 meters

Dogs not staring at each other

All students can hear you

You don't have to turn your back on students when explaining something centrally

How many staff members are there to assist you

During the resource guarding exercise, we reward trusting us approaching a food dish by surprising the dog with even more delicious food than what they had in their dish.

In the 'leave it' exercise, we start with practising asking the dog to ignore a boring temptation and we reward him with a high-value reward. Only as the dog gets better at it - as it costs him less effort to ignore temptation - do we reduce the value of the reward.

During the 'princess exercise', we wait until the dog shows insight (i.e. he does a half-hop instead of jumping) before we reward.

We reward even approximations of the desired behaviour, and gradually increase our criteria as the dog gets better at the exercise.

We emphasize on the new aspects/next steps during 1-on-1 guidance, giving the student homework that is at the right level for them (challenging, not impossible)

We keep the central explanation to a minimum. 

We don't adapt and repeat the full-length central explanation for the newbies. Repetition will help anchor the concepts deeper for the more experienced students anyway. 

Pick your battles: Students are free to set their own priorities and to practice at home only exercises that add value to their lives. 

We have carefully designed our curriculum and ask our students to work equally hard on all exercises in it. 

Working dog level: For exercises that matter to students, we encourage them to proof the exercise through practice, so that they also work in real-life, and not just with low-distraction environment. 

Priorities: We always illustrate the everyday use of an exercise. If it can be life-saving (e.g. recall, leave it), we make sure the students understand this using real-life anecdotes.

Use Combat treats only in highly distracting situations

Decrease the dog's calorie intake according to how much Combat food he got each day. 

Weigh the dog's daily ration of his normal food, and mark it in a measuring jar. Fill the jar up to the mark every morning. Take the dog's meals AND the dog's training rewards out of that ration. 

We don't intervene on matters of nutrition, even if they concern dog training. 

All students in one line

Students in a full circle

Students in a semi-circle

There is no ideal group configuration

True: pretty much all research papers looking into this back it up

False: Many situations exist where harsher punishment methods help you reach your training goals faster. 

1-2 minutes

3-5 minutes

6-10 minutes

Because some students are intimidated by the technology, by the fact that it is an unfamiliar piece of equipment. 

Because it takes an extra hand. One hand to give treats, one hand to hold the leash, one hand to hold the clicker. It can be held together with the leash, but clumsy students struggle

Because other dogs might think they are being clicked, so it doesn't work well in a group setting. 

Minimum 1 (or students will get bored) and maximum 2-3 (or students will get overwhelmed)

Minimum 2 (or students will get bored) and maximum 3-4 (or students will get overwhelmed)

It doesn't really matter, as long as your curriculum is completed by the end of the lesson cycle. 

1-2

2-3

3-4

4-5