dogs behavior modification
Communicating with dogs
Before reviewing the issue of dogs behavior
modification, we must first learn the language of communication in dogs. Dogs
acquired this complex language from their animal nature and kinship with
wolves.
Although this language has changed dramatically,
the basic impulses within the dog's mind remain the same. In modifying the
behavior of dogs.
we also
have to know the way dogs deal with each other is very important, as the way
they stand, the movement of the tail and the sounds they make play an important
role in the nature of the encounter.
Waving the tail does not always mean that this
meeting is happy, as it depends primarily on the circumstances of this meeting
and the way in which the dog waves its tail.
Smell is a vital thing in the world of dogs, you
will find that they smell each other and smell specific parts of the body.
Although dogs are social animals and live in
groups, the way dogs communicate varies, as it depends primarily on body
language.
Surprisingly, despite the complex language
with which humans communicate, we use body language for up to 80% of our
communication.
Despite the great difference between the means
of communication used by humans and those used by dogs, there is a common
basis, and by trying and learning from mistakes.
we can reach the basic pattern with which we
communicate, and this is one of the important axes in behavior modification,
whether in humans or in dogs
Dogs have feelings and have a temperament that
is affected by what is around them, they are not robots. But her feelings can
be described as very simple, like the feelings of children. This makes it
difficult for us to understand her moods during training and to modify
behavior.
In order to be able to illustrate some of the most
efficient ways of training dogs and modifying their behavior, it is necessary
to first understand some of the basic elements of dog psychology.
In order
to reach the best results in training and behavior modification, you may need
to change some of your previous ideas about dogs.
Yes, they
are wonderful animals if we can establish a wonderful and unique relationship
with them.
But she doesn't think like us, and she won't be
able to. They do not look at or think about things like we do, and this fact in
and of itself may cause problems in a dog's relationship with its owner.
When a
dog does something that may annoy us, such as scratching a door or turning the
table with its fingernails, there is no point in punishing it for something it
did in the past, as it will not be able to connect this with that.
You will find that dogs are like little
children, only living in the moment and not thinking about the past or the
future.
And when you begin to understand the simple
world of dogs that are not complicated by the rules of logical thinking, it
becomes easy to start training, teaching and modifying the behavior of the dog
that will live with you for the rest of his life.
Since the pampered dogs we raise in homes cannot
act like dogs that live in the wild, they find themselves forced to try to
coexist as a member of the family they live with and adapt to the alien human
society.
Thus, these
dogs will try to know their place within the family they live with. The higher
the position that dogs occupy within the family, the more likely they are to
have problems with them within the family.
When dog
owners define their true place in the family, which must be lower than any
member of the family, they become more obedient, easier to train, and faster in
the process of dogs behavior modification, which is exactly what we want.
The puppy is
looking forward to getting the natural, instinctive response from you to
whatever it does, so it will try to communicate with you as it might with
another puppy like it
This is the
best opportunity to teach the puppy what you want and start early in modifying
the puppy's behavior.
It is
important to realize that dogs learn by categorizing things into true and
false, and there is no room for one behavior to combine the two, as it mainly
depends on the link between things and their results.
For example, if you teach the dog to sit or
lie and this results in him receiving a reward with food, praise, or petting,
the dog will wish to repeat this command to receive the reward.
Likewise, if
the dog smells food in a basket and turns it over to get the food inside, then
this action is good for him because he received a reward from it.
Similarly,
the dog associates in his mind the concept of a bad experience and its results.
For example, if the dog pulls some orange peel
from the basket but complains about its bad taste, this bad experience will
become “avoiding the basket and the bitter peel inside” and other behavioral
situations.
Genetic behaviors
Dogs inherit some of the behavioral characteristics of the type of original breed to which they belong.This may
cause you some problems with training and dogs behavior modification if you
don't pay attention to these genetic behaviors.
For example,
you find that hunting dogs tend to hunt by nature and use their nose a lot,
compared to another type, such as Pekingese dogs.
Read this article about: hound dogs
So when you
train her outside the house, it's almost a struggle to get her attention.
While we
find that the puppies of the doll dog breeds are so small that it is difficult
to deal with them, and you may need to be small in size too in order to be able
to reach their size to perform some training exercises as well as modify the
puppy's behavior.
A breed such
as the Terrier gravitates quickly to anything that catches its eye, while young
puppies are slowly absorbing what is going on around them.
These
different breeds grow at different rates and are bred for different purposes
that require reactions and moods specific to the breed to which they belong.
All of these
breeds can be trained, but with different factors taken into account during
training and dogs behavior modification.
We find that all shepherd dogs are easiest to
train to obey, but if left to their instincts, they may use their innate
intelligence in behaviors we do not want them to do.
Tone of voice
The first
thing to keep in mind to dogs behavior modification is to observe the tone of
voice; Where the different tones of the human voice provoke different reactions
in the dog. The reaction of the dog varies depending on how high or low the
sound is.
So it's important to limit your commands to one word, eg "No" rather than using a long sentence that confuses the dog like "What did you do, you bad dog?"
Use a firm,
clear tone when giving commands to your dog. Dogs can distinguish the same
command when it comes from an old person or a small child, despite the
difference in the tone of their voice.
The dog adapts to both tone, which gives him
the opportunity to know the age of the trainer, who uses one method in giving
the dog commands.
Rewards
One of the
very important things in dogs behavior modification is rewards, as dogs love to
receive rewards from their owners. She doesn't care about her achievements, but
what really matters to her is to always be a favorite of the members of the
family she lives with.
Especially the individuals who occupy a higher position than them in the family. Dogs do not see the reward as we see it and do not understand this concept at all.
but we use this word to describe a vital part
of training that makes us happy in dealing with it and modifying its behavior.
Always keep
in mind that dogs seek to perform a behavior that results in a reward, and this
includes the rewards they get from you as a leader.
Caring for
her, praising her, patting her, petting her, giving her delicious food,
allowing her to spend more time with you, playing with her with the ball, or
any other type of actions or responses that give the dog the feeling that he is
loved by you.
In the eyes of the dog, these are rewarding
rewards. In modifying dog behavior, the use of rewards such as praise or food
is an effective way to encourage the dog to repeat the behavior to obtain the
reward.
Use food as
a reward in training, but do not overuse it, as in many cases it negatively
affects training. Whereas, when used in moderation, it becomes very beneficial.
There is
another reward, which is playing, which is popular with all dogs and may help
in the process of modifying behavior in dogs. We usually find her playing alone
with her own toys or with old things at home.
So you can
use these things in training to expand the scope of the rewards that the dog
gets. Dogs love to enjoy life and have the right personality to do this and
like to have things that help them do so.
Reward and punishment
We've
already shown how dogs are naturally reward-seeking, and thus avoid actions
that bring them any benefit. This is normal, even we humans do it.
We will use the word punishment to describe
the unpleasant experiences we rely on to help us train the dog and modify its
behavior.
Some
trainers do not prefer to use this term, as its meaning is always associated
with a kind of revenge for lack of energy, which is not suitable for dealing
with dogs.
Dogs always
want to avoid unpleasant things. They do not like to be hurt, angry, or feel
rejected by a member of the family in which they live.
Hence, we can use these experiences, which
from her point of view are a punishment, to control her and modify her
behavior.
Direct
punishment or bad experience takes many forms. It may just be your ignoring the
dog, or your refusal to be with you as punishment. If the dog is chewing its
own chain, for example.
We can put a foul-smelling substance on it,
and this in itself is a punishment, as he will find that chewing things has bad
consequences for him, without your direct intervention.
Most humans,
like these animals, can use the vocal threat of using the command "No"
as we each see fit.
If the
little puppy does something wrong, holding him by the back of his neck hard and
looking at him strictly for several seconds is a kind of threat and leads to
good results.
if you have the necessary skill to do this,
which will contribute to modifying the dog's behavior.
Your
position in the family allows you to do this without a problem. The only thing
that you will not find in this article is the suggestion of hitting the dog as
a punishment for its misbehavior.
which is unacceptable, and you will find that
there are other effective means by which we can get to what we want.
In the
following, we will show an example showing how reward and punishment can be
combined and how to implement this in training and dogs behavior modification.
When the dog
is walking ahead of you and pulling you, this is undoubtedly annoying, but when
you use the chain and the collar and pull the dog violently when he pulls the
chain.
The dog will find this experience unpleasant
for him because it hurts him, and he will not want to repeat it. If you perform
this method skillfully.
the dog may associate his behavior with the
painful outcome, causing him to stop repeating it.
Of course,
it is better in dog behavior modifying to teach the dog not to do bad behavior
through reward, not punishment.
but if the matter does not work in the first
way, there is no alternative to using the second method.
But
unfortunately, our human nature pushes us to punish the dog when we lose our
patience, which affects the dog's training negatively and leads to slowing down
the training process and dogs behavior modification.
Except for a
few exceptional cases. So always keep in mind that teaching a dog how to reward
him for not doing bad behavior is much better than teaching him by punishing
him after doing this behavior.
Right time
Dogs will learn by associating any action you teach them to do (in this case, training exercises) and the command you give them, backed up by experience from which they receive either a reward or a punishment.The speed of
teaching the dog depends on how you reach this stage in its training. You will
find that in the end it all depends on choosing the right timing.
Whether you reward or punish the dog, the
reaction (whether reward or punishment) should come when the dog performs the
intended behavior, or at least within two seconds for the dog to begin
associating its behavior with your reaction.
Most beginners in dealing with dogs and dog behavior
modification. Find it difficult at first to combine all training skills, giving
commands, choosing the right timing, and praising at the right time.
But it all depends on the practice, it may sometimes
be worth practicing these skills on your own before you implement them with the
dog.
One training method
The reward is an important motivational method in
modifying the dog's behavior, but there are many other ways to motivate the dog
to want to be with you, as well as to motivate him to train and thus learn and
behavior modification.
The leadership training program is an excellent psychological method to take advantage of the dog's instincts and push him to attention at the times you want.
It's a good
idea to link your dog's instinct to get attention with having fun with you
during training.
But make sure that it is under your control, not the dog's
control, and in the interest of training and behavior modification.
When the whole
family participates in the education and training of the dog and the
modification of its behavior, everyone should use the same method.
To understand why, suppose, for example, that you are
learning a foreign language and you have four teachers, each of whom explains
in a different way.
You will find
that education has become more difficult, so the family will need to agree on
unifying the commands used and training methods used during training and
behavior modification.
Also, most women complain that dogs pay more attention
to the voice of men than to the voice of women, and this may be due to the
tolerant nature of women, which may be against them in some cases.
Dogs learn obedience when the training is very clear
and specific, something that men seem to do better than women, of course many
of the best dog trainers and behavior modifiers are women.
But whether the
trainer is a man or a woman, you will find that he is clear and specific and
deals in the same manner so as not to cause confusion for the dog.
Do you know that dogs really mean guilt? It may seem
that she does, but in fact her behavior is often an expression of her fear of
punishment.
For example, if a person spends an hour trying to
catch his dog in the garden, and eventually manages to stop him somewhere after
he loses his temper.
You will find
that the dog, during the last stage of his owner's attempts to reach him, feels
that he deserves the blame and that he has become obedient to his owner.
In dogs behavior modification, we often assume that
the dog expresses the reason behind our anger, but in fact he does not know
this at all and does not feel guilty about anything he does.
All the dog realizes is your anger, as it has the
ability to understand body language more than you think, and when the dog takes
this submissive stance to calm your anger.
For the dog to
reach this stage of fear, he must have sensed your anger in a situation before.
If you punish
your dog as a result of your anger, all he knows is that you have punished him
without knowing the reason for this punishment. So try to release your anger in
any way away from the dog.
ignoring
In a matter also related to dogs behavior
modification, for wolves that live in groups.
wolves that occupy the highest position in the herd
have the right to ignore any member of the team they do not want and choose
some members to be close to them.
In fact, they maintain a great deal of their social
standing in the herd by the way and time in which they deal with the herd
members.
and pampered
dogs also respond wonderfully to the amount of attention we give them to them.
In modifying the behavior of dogs, if you ignore the
bad behaviors that you want them to stop, they will stop doing them. But this
method usually fails.
Because dogs
have the ability to persist and repeat the action greater than our ability to
continue to ignore their actions.
Dogs have great patience; it seems that they were born
from their innate ability to hunt.
Many dogs bark when they want to get our attention.
Barking is not a natural behavior in the animal family to which dogs belong.
Which includes
the wolf as well, but it is one of the behaviors that dogs acquired when they
were domesticated. In modifying the dog's behavior.
it is
preferable to ignore this barking if you can, unless the barking is caused by a
problem with the dog.
Read
this article about : How to deal with barking dogs?
The barking will stop in all but exceptional cases. In the same way, appreciating the good behavior of your dog.
If he
responds to your call to him and comes to sit or lie in implementation of your
orders and reward him by patting him and praising him.
he encourages the dog to repeat this behavior
again and helps a lot in modifying the dog’s behavior.
Therefore,
ignoring is a powerful technique used by the leader and behavioral therapist,
but it must be used efficiently.
Many find it
difficult to implement this method, and you will find that if you ask them to
ignore the dog for ten minutes to correct its behavior.
Nine out of
ten people cannot completely ignore their dogs in these few minutes.
We find that they either look at the dogs or
move their head towards them when the dogs start to complain or bark or
approach them and touch them, and then we find that dogs are smarter than their
owners!
WATCH ALSO : DOG BEHAVIOUR PROBLEMS COLIN TENNANT
Summary of behavior modification techniques in dogs:
-
The most dangerous period for
forming a dog's personality is between the ages of 5 to 12 weeks.
-
Genetic behaviors do not change
like the basic characteristics of the family such as color, size and shape.
-
Work on developing your ability
to use your voice efficiently in training.
-
The dog must receive the reward
as soon as he learns the correct behavior or within two seconds of doing it so
that he can connect them.
-
Choosing the right timing means
the dog’s owner’s ability to make the dog associate in his mind what he has
learned and receiving a reward.
-
Commitment to using the same
commands and signals is the secret of training success, i.e. the trainer must
repeat the commands and actions each time in the same way.
-
Guilt is a human concept that a
dog does not understand.
-
Ignoring is a powerful teaching
tool that a dog can understand.
Article source: Twenty-one Days to Train your Dog Colin Tennant,2004, Interpet publishing
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